Pope versus President: Pontiff vows to keep speaking out against war after Trump posts bizarre AI Jesus image
Pope Leo has said he doesn't "want to get into a debate" with Donald Trump and will "continue to speak out loudly against war" after the US President launched a series of scathing attacks against the Pontiff on social media.
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Trump hit out at Pope Leo insisting he "wouldn't be in the Vatican" without him after the pope condemned the President's war in Iran.
Pushing back against Trump's attacks, the US-born Pontiff said: "I don't think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.
"I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems."
He told Reuters he didn't "want to get into a debate" with Trump.
Taking aim at the Pope on his social media platform Truth Social last night, Trump was seen to admit: "I'm not a fan of Pope Leo".
It comes after he accused the Pontiff of being "weak on crime", without citing any evidence to back up his claims.
The US President was then seen to post an AI-generated image appearing to depict himself as God.
As part of the rant, the US President criticised the Pontiff over his views on US actions in Iran - and after the religious leader spoke out following US actions in Venezuela.
On Friday, Pope Leo appeared to condemn US military actions in the Middle East, writing: "God does not bless any conflict" - an apparent swipe at Trump.
Releasing a statement on X, the Pontiff stated that "no cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood".
He did not name the US leader or the country itself directly, but did reference the "inhuman violence is spreading ferociously through the sacred places of the Christian East".
During his online rant, Trump went on to claim that the head of the Catholic faith had only been appointed because of his American nationality.
"If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican," he wrote.
Trump branded the Pope "a man that doesn't think that we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world."
He added: "I'm not a fan of Pope Leo."
Reacting to the spat, Reform leader Nigel Farage told LBC "I think that the Pope, the Church of England, any religious leader, should be open to mockery, cartooning, criticism. And I think this debate, particularly if we effectively have this government bringing in new blasphemy laws, is one that's got a lot, lot further to run."
When asked if he agreed with Trump, Farage said: "I don't agree or disagree with him. I don't know the Pope particularly.
"He's the leader of an enormous church, a church that has stayed truer to itself than the Church of England. And I'm not going to join criticism. I'm not going to condemn what Trump has said. I'm just not going to get involved."
The row is posing a potential religious rift among Trump's hardline Christian fanbase in the United States.
Last week the Pentagon and the Vatican both appeared to deny allegations of a rift following reports of a contentious meeting between a papal envoy and a top US defence official.
In January, in a thinly disguised swipe Pope Leo XIV denounced what he called "diplomacy based on force" and in his Easter blessing he urged "those who have the power to unleash wars" to "choose peace."