Pope Leo XIV reportedly said Saturday that comments he made this week that “the world is being ravaged by a few tyrants” were not directed at President Donald Trump.
Speaking on a flight to Angola during a 10-day trip to Africa, the pope said reports of his remarks were “inaccurate in every respect” and that his speech “was prepared two weeks ago, well before the president made comments about myself and the message of peace that I promote,” Reuters reported.
The news outlet quoted the pope as saying his remarks were not directed at Trump.
“It just so happens that people think I’m trying to debate the president, and that’s not in my interest at all,” the pope reportedly said.
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Vice President J.D. Vance later expressed his gratitude to X, thanking the pope for clearing the record.
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“While media coverage continues to spark conflict — and yes, real disagreements have occurred and will occur — the reality is often far more complex,” Vance wrote. “Pope Leo preached the gospel, as he was supposed to do, and that would inevitably mean he had his say on the moral issues of the day.
“The president — and the entire administration — strives to apply these ethical principles in a chaotic world,” he continued. “We will be praying for him and I hope we will be praying for him as well.”
The vice president’s comments came days after he told Fox News’ Bret Baier on “Special Report” that the Vatican would be better off “sticking to the moral issues.”
“Let the president of the United States determine American public policy,” Vance said Tuesday.
On Sunday, Trump accused Pope Leo XIV of “terrible” foreign policy after he criticized the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran.
“He talked about the ‘fear’ of the Trump administration but did not mention the fear of the Catholic Church and all other Christian organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they arrested priests, ministers and everyone else for holding church services even while out and ten or even twenty feet apart,” Trump wrote in the Truth Society post.
“I don’t want the pope to think it’s acceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump responds to Pope Leo slams those who ‘manipulate religion’ for military or political gain
Pope Leo XIV and President Donald Trump
(Getty Images)
Speaking in Cameroon on Thursday, the pope said, “We must of course make decisive changes – real transformations – that will lead us in the opposite direction, towards a sustainable path filled with human fraternity.
“The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, but it is held together by legions of supportive brothers and sisters.
Pope Leo XIV spoke during a meeting with the Bamenda community at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Bamenda on April 16, 2026, on the fourth day of his 11-day apostolic journey to Africa.
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“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the name of God for their own military, economic or political gain, dragging sacred things into darkness and filth.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Original source of the article: Pope Leo says comments about world ‘ravaged by a few tyrants’ were not directed at Trump: report