Pope Leo XIV has responded to the criticisms from the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, on the same flight that was taking him to Algiers, at the start of his apostolic journey to Africa, after the message in which the leader questioned his actions in political and moral matters.
During an exchange with journalists on board the papal plane, an NBC reporter directly asked the Pontiff about Trump’s accusations, who had described him as “terrible in foreign policy” and suggested that he acted out of fear toward his administration.
“I Have No Fear”
Leo XIV rejected that interpretation and responded clearly: “I have no fear of the Trump administration or of speaking clearly about the message of the Gospel”.
The Pope emphasized that his public intervention does not respond to political criteria, but to his mission as pastor of the Church: “I am called to do what the Church is called to do”.
“We Are Not Politicians”
In continuity with the response offered by the bishops of the United States, the Pontiff distanced himself from the political logic in which the criticisms were framed. “We are not politicians, we do not seek to formulate foreign policies”, he stated.
Leo XIV specified that the Church does not act from categories proper to governments, but from a different perspective, linked to its spiritual mission.
The Gospel as Criterion
The Pope placed the center of his response on the content of the Christian message. “I believe in the message of the Gospel: ‘Blessed are those who work for peace’”, he noted.
In this sense, he added that it is a message necessary in the current context: “It is a message that the world needs to hear today”.
Support from the Diocese of Rome
The Pontiff’s words have been joined by the reaction of the Cardinal Vicar of Rome, Baldo Reina, who has publicly expressed his support for the Pope in a statement released on April 13.
The prelate stated that he gathers “the sentiments of the people of God present in the Diocese of Rome” in manifesting his solidarity with Leo XIV “in the face of disconcerting attacks on his teaching of peace”.
“I express solidarity and confirm full support for our bishop, Pope Leo XIV”, the text states.
Cardinal Reina also emphasized the foundation of the Pontiff’s message: “The Gospel of the Beatitudes is the substance of the Church’s mission”, adding that “no one or anything… can prevent this proclamation”.
A Response After the Controversy
The Pontiff’s words come after the message posted by Trump on social media, which also provoked the reaction of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, whose spokesman recalled that “the Pope is not a politician, but the Vicar of Christ”.
With this intervention, Leo XIV responds for the first time directly to the criticisms from the US president, situating his actions within the proper framework of the Church’s mission.