Church’s Mission Is to Preach Peace, Pope Says, Rejecting Trump’s Claim
Pope Leo XIV said violence must always be a last resort and rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that he supports Iran having a nuclear weapon.
The American president has repeatedly said he doesn’t want a pope who thinks Iran should have a nuclear weapon, even though the pope has never endorsed that view and has consistently spoken against nuclear arms.
Pope Leo XIV said May 5: “I have already spoken from the very first moment of being elected, and now we are close to the anniversary. I said, ‘Peace be with you,’ and the Church’s mission is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace. If someone wants to criticize me for proclaiming the Gospel, let them do so truthfully.”
“The Church has spoken for years against all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt there. And so I simply hope to be listened to for the value of God’s words,” Leo said to the press outside the papal villa of Castel Gandolfo before returning to Rome after a daylong stay there, two days before a scheduled meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Trump claimed May 4 on the "The Hugh Hewitt Show": “The pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people, but I guess if it’s up to the pope, he thinks it’s just fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.”
Read More:
“I donʼt want a pope who thinks itʼs OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on April 12.
Iran has repeatedly denied any plans for developing nuclear weapons, emphasizing that its nuclear program is only for peaceful purposes.
Source: Agencies
