'No fear': Pope Leo pushes against Trump attacks as he lands in Algeria

Pope Leo XIV landed in Algeria on Monday in a landmark visit overshadowed by US President Donald Trump’s criticism of the first American pontiff over his stance on the Iran war, calling him “weak” and “terrible.”

Speaking to reporters flying with him to Algiers on Monday, Pope Leo said he does not fear the Trump administration and vowed to continue to speak up against the war.

“I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do. We are not politicians. We don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective he might understand it, but I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker,” the pope said.

“I don't want to get into a debate with ⁠him,” he said, adding, “I don't ​think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused ​in the way that some people are doing.”

He went on, “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the ​states to look for just solutions to problems.”

What happened: Only hours before Pope Leo embarked for Algeria on the first-ever papal trip to the Muslim-majority nation, Trump turned his attention to the Chicago-born pontiff, who has repeatedly called for an end to the war in Iran.

“I'm not a big fan of Pope Leo. He's a very liberal person, and he's a man that doesn't believe in stopping crime,” Trump told reporters in Maryland on Sunday. He went on to accuse the pontiff of “toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon.”

Trump later took to social media and continued his tirade against Pope Leo. “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” he wrote on Social Truth.

“Leo’s Weak on Crime, Weak on Nuclear Weapons, does not sit well with me,” he went on. “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”

Trump later posted an AI-generated image of himself as Jesus Christ.

Background: Since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran on Feb. 28, Trump has insisted that he will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies that it is seeking a nuclear arsenal, saying that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Talks between the US and Iranian sides in Pakistan collapsed on Saturday, straining a fragile 45-day ceasefire announced last week.

At least 3,000 people have been killed in the war in Iran and more than 2,000 in Lebanon, according to local health authorities.

Pope Leo has been outspoken against the war in the Middle East. In one of his strongest statements, on Saturday, the pope denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that is fueling the war in Iran and demanded that political leaders stop and negotiate peace.

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!” he said during a prayer service in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Last Tuesday, Pope Leo publicly criticized Trump over his threats to wipe out “a whole civilization” in Iran as “unacceptable,” and urged people worldwide to pressure their leaders to halt the widening regional conflict.

During his Palm Sunday address on March 29, the pope forcefully denounced the world leaders involved in the fighting, saying that God rejects the prayers of “those who wage war.”

He quoted a Bible passage: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood."

Know more: Pope Leo again called for peace during his visit to Algeria on Monday. During a meeting with civil authorities at the Djamaa el Djazair Conference Center, the pope said he comes as a “pilgrim of peace” and noted that “we are brothers and sisters, for we have the same Father in heaven.”

On Monday, Pope Leo was welcomed by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune upon his arrival in Algiers.

His three-day visit includes a stop at the Great Mosque of Algiers. The pontiff will then head to the city of Annaba in northeast Algeria, home of Saint Augustine, where he will preside over a mass at the Basilica of St. Augustine and meet members of the Augustinian order.

Algeria is home to a tiny Catholic community of around 9,000 people made up mostly of foreigners, less than 2% of the 47 million Sunni-majority population, according to Vatican statistics. 

Algeria is the pope’s first leg of a 10-day tour that will take him to Cameroon, Angola and Equatorial Guinea, in his longest Apostolic Journey since he was elected in May 2025. Last December, he visited Turkey and Lebanon and made a trip to Monaco in March.