Luanda, Angola —
Pope Leo
America’s first pope told reporters on the papal plane from Cameroon to Angola that the “political situation” caused by Trump’s attacks on him had led to some inaccurate commentary during his 11-day trip to Africa.
Before Mr. Leo departed on April 13 on a four-country tour, the president launched an all-out attack on the Pope on the “Truth Social” platform, and the criticism continued for several days.
But on Saturday, the pope said he was not trying to discuss President Trump and that “a certain narrative” about the trip was fostered by “a political situation” created by the president.
“There are a lot of stories out there that are inaccurate on all sides[about the visit]but that’s because of the political situation that arose because of some comments the president of the United States made about me on the first day of the trip,” the pope said on a plane from Yaounde to Luanda. “Much of what has been written since then has been commentary upon commentary, attempting to interpret what was said.”
The pope was referring to a speech he gave Thursday in Bamenda, Cameroon, where he said the world was being ravaged by “a handful of tyrants” and leaders who were spending “billions of dollars” on wars.
“The speech I gave at the peace prayer meeting a few days ago was prepared two weeks ago, long before the president commented on me or the message of peace that I was spreading,” he said on the plane Saturday. “And yet, by chance, it looked like I was trying to debate the president again, which is not in my interest at all.”
On April 13, on a flight to Algeria, Leo responded to the president’s online attacks, saying he was not afraid of the Trump administration and would continue to push a message of peace. But in recent days, there has been an unprecedented, though largely one-sided, conflict between the U.S. Pope and the U.S. President.
The Pope’s trip to Africa will be his longest as a pontiff and will take him to a continent where the Catholic Church is growing. According to Vatican statistics, about one-fifth of the world’s Catholics live in Africa.
“I come to Africa primarily as a pastor, as a leader of the Catholic Church, to spend time with, celebrate, encourage and accompany all Catholics across Africa,” Leo said on Saturday.
He added that his stay in Africa was aimed at “dialogue with people of all faiths, promoting fraternity, true understanding, acceptance and peacebuilding.”
See in photos: Pope Leo’s trip to Africa
