August M
President Donald Trump has again criticised Pope Leo over comments related to Iran, deepening tensions ahead of a planned Vatican meeting between the pontiff and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The remarks come as Washington and the Vatican continue to differ publicly over conflict in the Middle East and questions surrounding military action against Iran, reports DR News.
Fresh criticism
In an interview with conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt, Trump accused the pope of taking a position that could endanger Catholics and others by opposing military action against Iran.
“The Pope would rather talk about the fact that it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon, and I don’t think that’s very good. I think he’s putting a lot of Catholics and a lot of people in danger,” Trump said, according to a transcript of the interview.
“But I guess it’s up to the Pope, he just thinks it’s perfectly fine that Iran has a nuclear weapon.”
Both the BBC and The Guardian noted that Pope Leo has never publicly supported Iran obtaining nuclear weapons.
Instead, the pope has repeatedly criticised war and military escalation involving Iran, including recent US and Israeli actions.
Vatican response
Pope Leo responded to recent criticism by defending his right to speak openly about peace and church teachings.
According to the Associated Press, the pope said critics were free to challenge him so long as they did so honestly.
“If anyone wants to criticize me for preaching the gospel, let them do so with the truth,” the pope said.
He also stressed that the Catholic Church has consistently opposed nuclear weapons for decades.
“The Church has for years distanced itself from all nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt about that,” he said.
Rubio visit
The dispute comes shortly before Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due to meet Pope Leo during a scheduled visit to Italy and the Vatican running from May 6 to May 8.
Rubio, who is Catholic, denied that the trip was organised to reduce tensions between the White House and the Vatican, although he acknowledged recent developments had added significance to the visit.
“There is a lot to talk about with the Vatican,” Rubio said during a press conference.
US ambassador to the Holy See Brian Burch told Reuters he expected “honest” discussions between Rubio and the pope, adding that differences should be addressed through “brotherhood and genuine dialogue.”
Sources: DR News, BBC, The Guardian, Associated Press, Reuters
