Thursday, April 16, 2026 - Pope Leo has claimed the world is 'being ravaged by a handful of tyrants' amid his feud with President Donald Trump.
The Pope made the remarks during a trip to Cameroon on
Thursday after the President launched a tirade against him over his repeated
criticism of the war in Iran.
He also criticized leaders for spending billions on wars and
using religious language to justify wars, and urged a 'decisive change of
course'.
He condemned 'an endless cycle of destabilization and death'
on a visit to a 'bloodstained' region of Cameroon, which has been gripped by a
separatist insurgency for nearly a decade.
'Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest
much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of
destabilisation and death,' the US-born pontiff said in a speech in a cathedral
in the northwestern city of Bamenda, the centre of the insurgency.
He added: 'The masters of war pretend not to know that it
takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild.
'They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars
are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing,
education, and restoration are nowhere to be found.'
In a veiled dig at Trump, he said: 'Woe to those who
manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic
and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.
'It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s
creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.'
It comes amid a growing row between Trump and the head of
the Catholic Church, who has in recent weeks criticised the war in the Middle
East.
In a fiery rant on Truth Social, Trump branded the
pontiff 'a very liberal person' who is 'WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign
Policy'.
He also said that Leo, 70, was only made Pope 'because he
was an American', adding: 'If I wasn't in the White House , Leo wouldn't be in
the Vatican.'
He said: 'I don't think he's doing a very good job. He likes
crime I guess.
'We don't like a pope who says it's ok to have a nuclear
weapon. We don't want a pope that says crime is ok. I am not a fan of Pope
Leo.'
He then sparked further controversy by posting an
AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as Jesus Christ, triggering
backlash among his usual supporters before he deleted it.
On Monday, he said that he plans to continue speaking out
against war, telling Reuters: 'I don't want to get into a debate with him.'
Speaking aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where Leo began
a 10-day tour to four African countries, he added: '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 dialog and multilateral relationships among the states
to look for just solutions to problems.
'Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many
innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say
there's a better way.'
The pontiff has repeatedly condemned the war in Iran, saying
it has caused ‘absurd and inhuman violence’.
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