Pope Leo XIV and Vatican War Statements

Pope Leo XIV, on an 11-day African tour that included stops in Algeria and Cameroon, has escalated his public criticism of the U.S.-Israeli campaign in Iran, directly denouncing President Trump's recent rhetoric as unacceptable and warning that a "delusion of omnipotence" is fueling the conflict. Speaking in St. Peter's Basilica at an April 11 vigil and later in Cameroon's Bamenda, he urged leaders to stop rearmament and sit at tables of dialogue, condemned the manipulation of religion to justify war, and called Trump's social-media threat that "a whole civilization will die" in Iran "truly unacceptable." In a rare appeal for political action from the papal office, Leo encouraged lay Catholics to contact lawmakers to reject war, and told reporters aboard the papal plane that he has "no fear of the Trump administration" and will continue to press for peace. His remarks came as a fragile ceasefire coincided with face-to-face U.S.-Iran negotiations in Pakistan and as the Vatican contended with security concerns, including an unsubstantiated bomb threat against the pope's brother in Illinois.