Highlights
- Trump called Pope Leo "WEAK on Crime" and "terrible for Foreign Policy" on social media.
- Pope said he has "no fear" of Trump administration and will keep speaking out against war.
- Leo's 11-day Africa tour covers Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
The feud stems from Leo's growing criticism of the US-Israeli war with Iran. At an evening prayer vigil in St Peter's Basilica on Saturday, the same day US and Iranian delegations began face-to-face ceasefire talks in Pakistan, the pope said a "delusion of omnipotence" was fuelling global conflict and called on world leaders to sit at the table of dialogue rather than plan rearmament.
Trump took the remarks personally, saying the pope "thinks it's ok for Iran to have a nuclear weapon," a claim Leo never made.
On the papal plane to Algiers on Monday, Leo responded directly. "I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly on the message of the gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do," he told reporters.
He added that too many innocent people were being killed and that "someone has to stand up and say: there's a better way to do this."
Trump's attack went well beyond the Iran dispute. He questioned whether Leo was elected pope only "because he was an American" and suggested the Vatican had hoped Leo would serve as a bridge to Washington.
"If I wasn't in the White House, Leo wouldn't be in the Vatican," Trump claimed.
He also criticised Leo over Venezuela, immigration policy and what he called softness on crime.
The remarks drew sharp rebukes across the political spectrum in Italy.
Even far-right deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, a long-time Trump ally, said attacking a pope working for peace was "not a useful or intelligent thing to do."
Africa's message
The diplomatic storm apart, Leo's Algeria visit carries deep personal and pastoral meaning.
It is the first time a pope has visited the country, and Leo is there to promote Christian-Muslim coexistence and to honour St Augustine, the fifth-century North African theologian who shaped Leo's Augustinian religious order.
Speaking at the monument to Algeria's independence martyrs, the pope said: "God desires peace for every nation, a peace that is not merely an absence of conflict but one that is an expression of justice and dignity."
Meeting Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Leo praised the country's spirit of solidarity and used the occasion to call out "continuous violations of international law and neocolonial tendencies" in global affairs.
Algeria is home to only around 9,000 Catholics, mostly foreign nationals, alongside a Sunni Muslim population of 47 million.
Trump posted an AI-generated image on social media appearing to show himself dressed in biblical robes in a Jesus-like pose, seemingly laying hands on a bedridden man.
The image drew widespread criticism, with Catholics noting that portraying oneself as Jesus Christ is generally considered blasphemous according to Catholic doctrine.
Leo's peace message, both in the Vatican and now across Africa, reflects a steady and consistent papal stand.
He has called Trump's threat to annihilate Iranian civilisation "truly unacceptable" and written that God "does not bless any conflict." The row with Washington is rare on both sides.
