Trump accuses Pope Leo of "endangering many Catholics" with his stance on Iran

Pope Leo In an intervention on the Hugh Hewitt radio show, Trump said that the Pope “prefers to talk about Iran’s possession of a nuclear weapon being acceptable, and I do not think that is a good thing.

I think it puts the lives of a lot of Catholics and a lot of people in danger.” For his part, Pope Leo told reporters on Tuesday evening that the Church’s message regarding peace had not changed, saying: “If anyone wants to criticize me for spreading the teachings of the Gospel, let them do so honestly.

“The Church has spoken out for years against nuclear weapons, so there is no doubt.” This all comes as Pope Leo prepares to meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio at the Vatican on Thursday.

Rubio downplays Trump's recent criticism, stressing that this visit was planned in advance, and noting that the Vatican and the United States have much in common. But this meeting between the Foreign Minister and Pope Leo comes at a time of unprecedented tension between the US administration and the US-born Pope.