Pope Leo warns ‘tyrants are ravaging the world’ in war of words with Trump

Pope Leo ramped up his war of words with President Trump, blasting leaders who spend billions on wars.

The Catholic leader said the world was ‘being ravaged by a handful of tyrants’ during a visit to Cameroon on Thursday.

Leo, the first U.S. pope, criticised politicians who use religious language to justify wars.

The pope is in the midst of a furious spat with Trump, who said Leo should  ‘stop catering to the Radical Left’.

The post was prompted by the Pope labelled the US and Israeli war on Iran ‘unjust’.

Trump also uploaded a bizarre AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus and also wrote on Truth Social: ‘Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible on foreign policy. I don’t want a pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.’

Pope Leo rebutted the claims and told Reuters he plans to continue to speak out against the war, telling reporters: ‘I don’t want to get into a debate with ⁠him.’

Speaking at a cathedral in the western Cameroon city of Bamenda today, he said: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers.

‘But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.’

He added: ‘The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters.’

The AI-generated photo of the President as Trump has sparked fury from high-profile religious figures and MAGA fans.

Fox News commentator Riley Gaines wrote: ‘Is he looking for a response? Does he actually think this? Either way, two things are true. 1) A little humility would serve him well. 2) God shall not be mocked.’

Trump then deleted the photo and claimed he he posted it thinking it was him ‘as a doctor’.

‘And had to do with red cross as a red cross worker, which we support, and only the fake news could come up with that one. I just heard about it,’ he rambled.

The Pope’s remarks today took place during a meeting in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions, where a conflict going back nearly a decade has left thousands dead.

The Archbishop of Canterbury backed Leo’s criticism of international conflicts.

Dame Sara Mullaly, who is due to meet the Pope later this month in Rome, said she stands with the pontiff ‘in his courageous call for a kingdom of peace’.

She also urged ‘all those entrusted with political authority to pursue every possible peaceful and just means of resolving conflict’.

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