In the dispute with US President Donald Trump, Pope Leo XIV has sent a sign of relaxation. According to the head of the Catholic Church, it was partly misunderstood.
April 19, 2026, 06:42April 19, 2026, 06:42
During his trip to Africa, the head of the Catholic Church said that some of his statements had been misinterpreted.
“It was taken as if I wanted to contradict the president. That’s not my intention at all.”
There was initially no comment from Trump, who made accusations against the Pope after his appeals for peace.
The Pope is trying to smooth things over in the dispute with the US President.Image: keystone
The open dispute between the US President and the first pope from the United States made headlines around the world for days. On the flight to Angola, the third stop on a long trip to Africa, Leo unexpectedly turned to the journalists traveling with him. Some statements were “not interpreted correctly in all aspects,” he said. This was generally seen as an attempt to prevent the dispute with Trump from getting out of hand.
Open dispute between US President and Pope from USA
Trump and Leo had a heated exchange of words from a distance. The US President, who refers to his Christian faith, accused the Pope of a “terrible” foreign policy. Shortly afterwards, he temporarily posted an AI-generated painting online that showed himself as a savior. Criticism also came from US Vice President JD Vance, who converted to the Catholic faith a few years ago.
Leo replied: “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration.” Later, without naming individual politicians, he spoke of a “handful of tyrants who are destroying the world.” This was often linked to Trump’s statements. The Pope said on the plane that the speech with this formulation had already been prepared two weeks earlier – “that is, before the President said anything about me and the message of peace that I am spreading.” However, he only gave the speech two days later.
Leo: Message of peace and justice
Leo added: “Much of what has been written since then has been comment after comment, trying to interpret what was said. “It was taken as if I was contradicting the president.” His goal remains to spread a message of peace and justice.
Trump had previously recommended that he concentrate on his role as pope and refrain from making political statements. Evangelical and Catholic Christians are among the most important voter groups in the USA. In November, elections in the United States will mark the midpoint of Trump’s second term in office.
Africa program falls into the background
On the plane, Leo didn’t elaborate on what motivated him to make the new statement. In recent weeks he has made it clear with various appeals that he does not agree with the US war against Iran. At Easter he demanded: “Stop idolizing yourself and idolizing money! Stop displaying power! Stop the war!” Apparently the Pope incurred great anger in the White House.
Due to the dispute with the US President, the actual program of Leo’s trip to Africa – at eleven days, the longest of his almost one-year term in office – was pushed into the background. That could also have motivated him to explain himself again. In Angola’s capital Luanda, the Pope condemned the continued exploitation of the continent by other countries and international corporations.
Pope criticizes exploitation of African countries
Leo criticized a “development model that discriminates and excludes”. At a meeting with President João Lourenço, he added: “How much suffering, how many deaths, how many social and ecological disasters are caused by this logic of exploitation!” The former Portuguese colony is rich in raw materials and is also an important economic partner for Germany – especially as a supplier of crude oil and gas.
However, many of the approximately 37 million inhabitants still live in poverty. In addition, the population is still suffering from the aftereffects of almost three decades of civil war after independence in 1975. More than 90 percent of the residents are Christians – and around half of them are Catholics.
Leo also criticized the fact that people are still looking at Africa “in order to take something away”. “This chain of interests that reduces life to a commodity must be broken.” There are currently around 290 million Catholics living in Africa – now even more than in Europe. (sda/dpa)