Pope Leo has claimed the world is ‘being ravaged by a handful of tyrants’ amid his feud with President Donald Trump.
The Pope made the remarks during a trip to Cameroon on Thursday after the US President launched a tirade against him over his repeated criticism of the war in Iran.
He also criticised leaders for spending billions on wars and using religious language to justify wars, and urged a ‘decisive change of course’.
He condemned ‘an endless cycle of destabilisation and death’ on a visit to a ‘bloodstained’ region of Cameroon, which has been gripped by a separatist insurgency for nearly a decade.
‘Those who rob your land of its resources generally invest much of the profit in weapons, thus perpetuating an endless cycle of destabilisation and death,’ the US-born pontiff said in a speech in a cathedral in the northwestern city of Bamenda, the centre of the insurgency.
He added: ‘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.
‘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.’
In a veiled dig at Trump, he said: ‘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.
‘It is a world turned upside down, an exploitation of God’s creation that must be denounced and rejected by every honest conscience.’
It comes amid a growing row between Trump and the head of the Catholic Church, who has in recent weeks criticised the war in the Middle East.
He also said that Leo, 70, was only made Pope ‘because he was an American’, adding: ‘If I wasn’t in the White House , Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.’
He said: ‘I don’t think he’s doing a very good job. He likes crime I guess.
‘We don’t like a pope who says it’s ok to have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want a pope that says crime is ok. I am not a fan of Pope Leo.’
He then sparked further controversy by posting an AI-generated image seemingly depicting himself as Jesus Christ, triggering backlash among his usual supporters before he deleted it.
On Monday, he said that he plans to continue speaking out against war, telling Reuters: ‘I don’t want to get into a debate with him.’
Speaking aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where Leo began a 10-day tour to four African countries, he added: ‘I don’t think that the message of the Gospel is meant to be abused in the way that some people are doing.
‘I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialog and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.
‘Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.’
The pontiff has repeatedly condemned the war in Iran, saying it has caused ‘absurd and inhuman violence’.
