STORY
Pope Leo XIV has rejected Donald Trump’s false claim that he supports Iran having a nuclear weapon, in the latest public clash between the Vatican and an increasingly beleaguered US President.
Trump had claimed that the Pope thought it was “OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon” and accused him of “endangering a lot of Catholics” because of his criticism of the US-Israeli war with Iran. The claim was not supported by the Pope’s public remarks, which have focused on calls for peace, restraint and dialogue.
Speaking to journalists outside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo calmly restated the Catholic Church’s opposition to nuclear weapons and said his mission was to preach peace. He said violence must always be a last resort, making clear that opposition to war should not be misrepresented as support for nuclear proliferation.
The Vatican has also pushed back against Trump’s comments. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State, described the US President’s attacks on the Pope as “strange” and said the Holy See remained committed to its long-standing position against nuclear arms.