'Woe unto those who manipulate religion for military and political gain': Pope Leo sends strong message

• Pope Leo sends a strong message to those manipulating the gospel
  

• The statement appears to be directed at US President Donald Trump
  

• The Pope continues to promote global peace in his 10-day Apostolic visit to Africa

On April 16, 2025, Pope Leo shared a post on his X page, which states: "woe on 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."

The Pope's message is believed to be directed at President Trump of the United States of America, with whom he has been locked in an ongoing rift in the past week over the US's ongoing conflict with Iran, which Trump has justified as an upright battle.

The issues between Pope Leo and President Trump began when the Pope described the American President's threat to "destroy an entire civilisation in Iran," as "totally unacceptable".

This criticism angered Trump, who didn't hesitate to launch criticisms of his own at the Pope, whom he accused of "being soft on crime and meddling in politics". Trump's also claimed that the Pope, who is an American, was elected the Pope because he was President and it offered the catholic church a path to reaching him.

Things quickly escalated into a back-and-forth with Pope Leo replying that he was not afraid of the Trump administration, whom he accused of abusing the gospel for political reasons.

Earlier in the week, Trump shared a post on his Truth Social account where he asked whether the Pope was aware that Iran had killed 42,000 innocent citizens in the past few months and restated that America would not allow the Islamic Republic to own nuclear weapons.

The Pope's latest comments restated his vocal criticism of the ongoing conflict in Iran and President Trump's hardline position, which has also earned criticisms from several leaders, including the President of France Emmanuel Macron, the President of Spain Pedro Sanchez, and the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Trump's allusion to his Christian faith recently caused controversy when he shared an AI-generated picture of himself as what appeared to be Jesus Christ healing a sick man. The photo drew negative reactions, thus forcing Trump to clarify that he intended the picture to be him as a doctor rather than presenting himself as Jesus Christ.

It's quite likely that President Trump would reply to the Pope's latest message, which the Pope shared in Cameroon during his ongoing 10-day Apostolic visit to Africa.