ABOARD THE PAPAL PLANE 鈥� Since his election last May, Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff from the United States, has defied expectations that he would immediately become the world鈥檚 chief critic of President Donald Trump.
Leo has spoken with moderation, rarely veering from prepared remarks, talking generally on behalf of the poor, the environment and migrants 鈥� and, at almost every opportunity, calling for peace. When Leo voiced concern about policies advanced by the Trump administration, he did so without mentioning names or nations.
Now, the mild-mannered pope, who speaks in the wide vowels of a Midwestern uncle, finds himself in direct conflict with the brash U.S. president. On Monday, after nearly a year in office, Leo finally clapped back at the president, after Trump attacked him late Sunday night on Truth Social, the president鈥檚 social media platform, accusing Leo of being 鈥渨eak on crime鈥� and 鈥渃atering to the Radical Left.鈥�
Speaking to reporters on a flight to Algeria at the beginning of a 10-day tour to four African nations, Leo said: 鈥淚 have no fear, neither of the Trump administration, nor of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel. And that鈥檚 what I believe I am called here to do.鈥�
Asked specifically about Trump鈥檚 comments on Truth Social, Leo said: 鈥淚t鈥檚 ironic 鈥� the name of the site itself. Say no more.鈥�
Later, President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran waded into the dispute, declaring on social media that 鈥淚 condemn the insult to Your Excellency on behalf of the great nation of Iran.鈥�
The pope鈥檚 off-the-cuff remarks, in response to reporters鈥� questions as he walked through a plane greeting journalists, were considerably spicier than the staid press briefings he gave during his first international trip as pope to Turkey and Lebanon last fall.
Back then, he did not speak about Trump at all, even though the trip came shortly after senior Catholic bishops in the U.S. had, with the pope鈥檚 encouragement, condemned the Trump administration鈥檚 policies against asylum-seekers and migrants.
Leo has cast himself as a unifier from the start of his papacy, unlike his predecessor Pope Francis, who, among other moves, visited the U.S.-Mexico border to voice support for migrants as Trump campaigned for election in 2016 on an anti-immigrant platform. Francis鈥� approach sharply divided American Catholics, some of whom felt his push for the acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community and immigrant rights was either ineffective or too forward, or both.
In recent weeks, Leo has become a much sharper critic, first obliquely, and then more obviously, of the Trump administration鈥檚 war in Iran.
First, he appeared to distance himself from efforts by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to portray the U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran as a Christian mission.
Then after Trump threatened to wipe out 鈥渁 whole civilization鈥� in Iran, the pope said that 鈥渢his threat against the whole population of Iran鈥� was 鈥渞eally not acceptable.鈥� He urged citizens to contact their political leaders to ask them to 鈥渢o work for peace and to reject war always.鈥�
Finally, in mentioning the Trump administration by name Monday, Leo made clear that he was responding directly to the president.
The pope said his actions were those of a spiritual leader promoting religious values, rather than those of a politician intervening for political reasons.
鈥淲e are not politicians, we don鈥檛 deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it,鈥� Leo said in reference to Trump. 鈥淏ut I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.鈥�
Leo added that his comments were 鈥渘ot meant as attacks on anyone.鈥� Rather, he said, he was 鈥渋nviting all people to look for ways of building bridges, of peace and reconciliation and of looking for ways to avoid war any time that鈥檚 possible.鈥�
The pope answered questions during a two-hour flight from Rome to Algiers on Monday, speaking with journalists accompanying him on his tour through Algeria, Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
Unlike Trump, who speaks and posts on social media in a bombastic style, the pope remains calm in public, uses gentle humorous asides that have been likened to 鈥渄ad jokes,鈥� and regularly quotes scripture to support his remarks.
Speaking on the plane, he added: 鈥淚 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. 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鈥檚 a better way.鈥�
It was a message he echoed later in a speech to Algerian leaders, after meeting with their president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune.
鈥淏y respecting the dignity of everyone and allowing yourselves to be moved by the pain of others, instead of multiplying misunderstandings and conflicts, you can surely become protagonists of a new chapter in history,鈥� he said.
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