US President Donald Trump’s remarks about Pope Leo were “unacceptable”, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Monday, toughening her response after earlier facing criticism for failing to condemn Trump’s attack on the pontiff directly.
“I find President Trump’s words towards the Holy Father unacceptable. The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church, and it is right and normal for him to call for peace and to condemn every form of war,” Meloni said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump told reporters on Sunday that he is “not a big fan” of Pope Leo XIV, after the global leader of Catholics made a plea for peace amid the war in the Middle East.
The 70-year-old American pope publicly implored leaders on Saturday to end the violence, telling worshippers at St Peter’s Basilica: “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”.
“I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo. He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man who doesn’t believe in stopping crime,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
