Pope says 'tyrants' speech was not aimed at Trump

The pontiff says his remarks have been misinterpreted after a spat with the US president. Pope says 'tyrants' speech was not aimed at Trump Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Copyright current_year BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. The Pope arrived in Angola on Saturday as he continued his tour of Africa Pope Leo waves as he arrives in Angola. He has white hair and wears red and white robes. Pope Leo has said he was not seeking to debate Donald Trump when he criticised "tyrants" for spending billions on wars in a speech earlier this week. The pontiff said the remarks, delivered days after a high-profile spat with the US president, had been written a fortnight earlier – "well before the president ever commented on myself". "And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not in my interest at all," he told reporters aboard a flight to Angola on Saturday. On Monday, Trump launched a scathing attack on the first American Pope – who has been a vocal critic of the US-Israeli military operation in Iran – as "terrible for foreign policy". The Pope, who is currently on a tour of Africa, said on Saturday that a "certain narrative that has not been accurate" had developed, citing "the political situation created" by Trump's comments. During a speech in Cameroon on Thursday, he criticised leaders who "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". , he criticised leaders who "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". "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," he said. The Pope also condemned "an endless cycle of destabilisation and death" in a "bloodstained" region of Cameroon that had been gripped by insurgency for nearly a decade. The remarks were interpreted by some as a reference to Trump – who later told reporters: "The Pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants, but I can disagree." He had initially posted his lengthy criticism of the leader of the Catholic Church after the pontiff had voiced concern about Trump's threat that "a whole civilisation will die" if Iran did not agree to US demands for ending the war and open the Strait of Hormuz. The president said he was "not a big fan" of the Pope and called him "WEAK on crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy". Trump also posted an AI-generated image of himself that portrayed him as a Jesus-like figure, which he later removed. The Catholic leader's Africa tour includes stops in 11 cities across four countries. It is his second major foreign visit since being elected to the papacy last year, and reflects the importance of Catholicism in Africa. More than a fifth of the world's Catholics – some 288 million people – live in Africa, according to figures from 2024. Trump's rift with Pope is playing out in public - it's costing him valuable support The comments follow a high-profile spat with US President Donald Trump, who called the Pope weak on crime. Thousands attend a retreat in Derry named after Sister Clare, 10 years after her death in an earthquake in Ecuador. Leo XIV wants the world's attention on a continent vital to the Church's future, an aide says. The country's biggest musician Teddy Afro laments a lack of unity in the country on his new track. The Congolese government stresses those expelled from the US are only in the country temporarily. The discussion is a sign the AI firm's technology may be too critical for even the US government to do without. For centuries the prized sculptures, central to national identity, have been kept outside Zimbabwe's borders. Pope Leo XIV is on his third day in Cameroon before he heads to Angola on Saturday.