Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 13, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 13, 2026
Add as preferred source on GooglePope Leo XIV vows to continue raising his voice for peace and oppose war, following a sharp public rebuke from President Trump. Speaking aboard the papal plane en route to Africa, he stressed the Gospel should not be misused and reiterated his commitment to just, peaceful solutions amid global suffe
By Joshua McElwee
ABOARD PAPAL PLANE, April 13 (Reuters) - Pope Leo told Reuters on Monday that he plans to continue speaking out against war after U.S. President Donald Trump's https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump/ direct attack nL1N40W00Q on the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church.
In comments aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where the first U.S. pope is starting a 10-day tour to four African countries, the pontiff also said the Christian message was being "abused".
"I don't want to get into a debate with him," Leo told Reuters as he greeted journalists on the plane. "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 said, speaking on English.
"Too many people are suffering in the world today," said Leo. "Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way."
"The message of the church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political, a politician," he said.
Leo, originally from Chicago, has emerged as an outspoken critic of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran in recent weeks and decried the "madness of war" nL8N40U0B8 on in a peace appeal on Saturday.
Trump, in an apparent response to the pope's criticisms of both the conflict and the White House's hard-line immigration policies, said late on Sunday that Leo was "terrible".
"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Crispian Balmer)
Pope Leo believes it is important to promote peace and dialogue as too many innocent people suffer and are killed in conflicts worldwide.
President Trump launched a direct attack on Pope Leo for his comments condemning war and advocating for multilateral dialogue.
Pope Leo stated that the Christian message and the Gospel are being abused by some people, and he aims to set the record straight through his advocacy.
Pope Leo began a 10-day tour to four African countries, starting in Algiers, Algeria.
The pope said he will continue promoting peace by advocating for dialogue and multilateral relationships among nations to seek just solutions.
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