---
title: "Pope says he will continue to speak out against war after Trump attack"
description: "Pope Leo says he will keep speaking out against war after criticism from US President Donald Trump. He called for peace and dialogue on his Africa trip, while Trump called him “weak” and “terrible for foreign policy”."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "PAPAL TENSION"
author: "Reuters"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/reuters/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-04-13-pope-says-he-will-continue-to-speak-out-against-war-after-trump-attack-1/"
published: "2026-04-13T13:02:51"
updated: "2026-04-13T14:22:06"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 281
---

# Pope says he will continue to speak out against war after Trump attack

> Pope Leo says he will keep speaking out against war after criticism from US President Donald Trump. He called for peace and dialogue on his Africa trip, while Trump called him “weak” and “terrible for foreign policy”.

By Reuters · Published 13 April 2026, 15:02 SAST · Updated 13 April 2026, 16:22 SAST

## Key points
- Pope Leo pledges to continue advocating for peace despite a harsh critique from Donald Trump, who called him “weak” and “terrible for foreign policy”.
- During his trip to Africa, the Pope stressed the need for dialogue and a just resolution to global conflicts amid rising human suffering.
- He asserted that the Christian message is being misused and emphasised the Church’s role as a peacemaker, rejecting any political interpretations of his stance.
- The Pope, a critic of the US-Israeli stance on Iran, urges for an end to what he described as the “madness of war”.

## Content

Pope Leo told Reuters on Monday, 13 April 2026, that he plans ​to continue speaking out against war after US President [Donald Trump’s](https://www.reuters.com/world/us/donald-trump/) [direct ‌attack](https://www.reuters.com/world/trump-issues-scathing-attack-pope-leo-calls-him-weak-terrible-2026-04-13/) on the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church.

In comments aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where the first US 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, dialogue and multilateral relationships among the ​states to look for just solutions to problems,” he said, speaking ​in 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 ​US-Israeli war on Iran in recent weeks and decried ​the “[madness of ⁠war](https://www.reuters.com/world/pope-leo-urges-end-madness-war-us-iran-start-talks-2026-04-11/)” 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 ⁠hardline ​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. **DM/Reuters**