Pope Leo stated that he has never backed nuclear weapons and urged critics to speak truthfully, responding to Donald Trump’s recent claim that the pontiff “endangers many Catholics” with his position on the Iran conflict.
After departing the papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, on Tuesday evening, the first U.S.-born pope told journalists: “The church’s mission is to proclaim the gospel and to promote peace.”
Leo, who is scheduled to meet U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday to ease tensions sparked by earlier Trump remarks, appealed for honesty in public discourse.
“If anyone wishes to criticise me for preaching the gospel, let them do so truthfully: the church has opposed all nuclear weapons for years, and there is no doubt about that,” the pope said. “I only hope to be heard because of the worth of God’s word.”
Earlier that day, Trump told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt: “The pope would rather discuss the idea that Iran may possess a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that is wise.
“I believe he is putting many Catholics and many others at risk. But if it were up to the pope, he seems to think it is fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
In April, the U.S. president had attacked Leo after the pope criticised the Iran war, calling him “weak on crime” and “terrible on foreign policy,” and suggesting Leo’s election was due only to Trump’s presence in the White House. Trump then shared an AI‑generated image of himself portrayed as a Christ‑like figure before deleting it.
Leo, who marks his first anniversary as pope on Friday, frequently visits Castel Gandolfo at the start of the week, departing on Tuesday night and occasionally stopping to speak with journalists. Prior to Trump’s latest outburst, he had not planned to address the press this week.
“We were told yesterday there would be no papal briefing,” said Andrea Vreede, a Vatican correspondent for Dutch public broadcaster NOS. “But there was, because he deemed it necessary and it was necessary.”
Vreede added: “The situation has grown tense because Trump is not discussing the church or the Vatican, but Leo personally; he has made it personal. We are back to the era when Holy Roman emperors and popes exchanged this sort of rhetoric.”
The Rubio meeting will be the first known private audience Leo has had with a member of Trump’s cabinet since the secretary of state and U.S. Vice‑President JD Vance met the pope a day after his inaugural mass in May last year.
A “frank” exchange is anticipated, according to U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch, although Rubio has downplayed the rift between the Trump administration and the Vatican, saying “obviously we had some incidents” but adding “there is much to discuss with the Vatican.”
On Friday, Rubio will also meet the Italian prime minister.
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