" I'm not afraid of the Trump administration, or of proclaiming the Gospel message loudly, which is what I believe I should be here to do, which is why the Church is here. We are not politicians; we don't view foreign policy with the same perspective, but as peacemakers."
Pope Leo—on his way to Africa for a trip that will take him to Algeria, Cameroon, Angola, and Equatorial Guinea— responded to reporters in response to the unprecedented attack from overseas: "I don't have much to say. People who read this can draw their own conclusions. I'm not a politician, and I have no intention of engaging in debate with him. My message, rather, is always the same: to promote peace. And I say this for all world leaders, not just him... Too many innocent people have been killed, and I believe someone needs to stand up and say there is a better way."

A few hours ago, the American president took a swipe at the first American pontiff in the history of the Catholic Church. This tirade marks an unimaginable rift between the White House and the Vatican. In a long and scathing post on Truth, while still on Air Force One returning from Florida, the American president called Leone "weak on the crime front and terrible at foreign policy."

"He talks about the fear of the Trump administration, but he doesn't mention the fear the Catholic Church, and all other Christian organizations, felt during Covid, when priests, ministers, and anyone else were arrested for celebrating religious services ," the tycoon insisted, referring to the pontiff's recent statements condemning the war during a special prayer vigil in St. Peter's Basilica at the same time the United States and Iran were holding failed peace talks in Pakistan. "I much prefer his brother Louis because he's totally Maga. He's got it all figured out," Trump insisted, accusing Pope Leo of "finding it acceptable for Iran to possess nuclear weapons."

"I don't want a Pope who finds it terrible that America attacked Venezuela, a country that was sending huge quantities of drugs to the United States and, even worse, was emptying its prisons, pouring murderers, drug dealers, and violent criminals into our country," he continued. "And I don't want a Pope who criticizes the American president because I am doing exactly what I was elected to do , in a landslide victory: reducing crime to an all-time low and creating the greatest stock market in history."

The president even claimed credit for Louis Prevost's election as pontiff: "Leo should be grateful to me because, as everyone knows, his nomination was a disconcerting surprise. He wasn't on any list of papabili and was chosen by the Church solely because he was American; in fact, it was believed that this was the best way to manage the relationship with President Donald J. Trump. If I weren't in the White House, Leone wouldn't be in the Vatican. Unfortunately , Leone's stance, too weak on crime and nuclear weapons, doesn't sit well with me at all. Nor do I like the fact that he's meeting with Obama sympathizers like David Axelrod, a left-wing failure, one of those who would have liked to see the faithful and members of the clergy arrested."

Leone, Trump insisted, "should get a grip on his role as Pope, use common sense, stop pandering to the radical left, and focus on being a great Pope, rather than a politician. This behavior is doing him grave harm, and more importantly, it's harming the Catholic Church!"

(Unioneonline/D)

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