Pope Leo XIV said the Catholic Church has spoken out against nuclear weapons for years in comments to reporters on Tuesday, one day after President Donald Trump renewed claims that the pope thinks it is “OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
A sitting president of the United States has never previously engaged in a public disagreement with the pope. At the center of the conflict between two of the world’s most prominent figures is debate over the Iran war. Pope Leo has criticized the war, saying that “God does not bless any conflict” at a gathering of top bishops last month. Trump said on social media last month that Leo is “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy,” adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”
Leo said on Tuesday that the Catholic Church “for years has spoken out against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there.”
“The mission of the church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for announcing the Gospel, let him do it with the truth,” Leo said.
The comments came after Trump told conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt on Monday,
“The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. And I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio is scheduled to travel to Rome and Vatican City on Thursday and Friday.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Tuesday, the secretary of state said Trump’s criticism of the first American pontiff stemmed from concerns about Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon, which he said could threaten millions of Catholics and other Christians worldwide.
Trump “doesn’t understand why anybody leave aside the Pope, the president and I, for that matter, think most people cannot understand why anyone would think that it’s a good idea for Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.
This is a breaking news story. Updates to follow.
This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.
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