Pope Leo has said that the world is being “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” amid a deepening row over the war in Iran with US President Donald Trump.
Speaking on a visit to Cameroon, the pontiff blasted leaders who spend billions on wars in unusually forceful remarks.
Leo, the first American pope, also decried leaders who used religious language to justify wars and urged a “decisive change of course”.
“The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is not enough to rebuild,” the pontiff said.
“They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found.”
Leo has emerged as an outspoken critic of Trump’s war in Iran, which has sparked fighting across the Middle East and a global economic crisis.
Trump has in turn attacked the Pope, calling him “WEAK on crime and terrible for foreign policy” on Truth Social.
The US president attacked him again on social media late on Tuesday, and on Wednesday Trump posted an image of Jesus embracing him, after an earlier image he posted that portrayed him as a Jesus-like figure prompted widespread criticism.
On Thursday, the pontiff sharply criticised leaders who invoked religious themes to justify wars.
“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 said.
“It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.”
More to follow…
