Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Monday condemned US President Donald Trump's remarks about Pope Leo, saying the Pope's calls for peace were “correct”.
“I consider President Trump's words about 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 condemn all forms of war,” Giorgia Meloni said in a statement, according to AFP.
Meloni, who has cultivated close relations with the Trump administration, is not the only Italian political leader to criticize the American leader's claims about Pope Leo.
“Pope Leo is a spiritual leader for billions of Catholics, but beyond that, if there is one person who fights for peace, it is Pope Leo, so attacking him seems neither wise nor useful,” Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini was quoted as saying by Reuters.
At the same time, former center-left Prime Minister Matteo Renzi declared that “centuries have passed since such a flagrant act of aggression against the Roman Pontiff has not been seen”.
“He is, after all, a “bridge builder”, unlike Trump, a destroyer of relations and civilization. The only advantage is this: Those like Trump come and go, the popes stay,” said Renzi.
What Donald Trump said about Pope Leon
The President of the United States said the Supreme Pontiff was “terrible” late Sunday in what appeared to be a response to the pope's criticism of both the conflict and the White House's tough immigration policies.
“Papa Leon is WEAK on crime and terrible on foreign policy,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform.
In response, Pope Leo said on Monday that he plans to continue speaking out against the war.
“I don't want to get into a debate with him,” Leon, the first American pope in history, told Reuters.
