US President Donald Trump has criticised Pope Leo as "terrible" in a rare direct attack on the pontiff, who responded that he had "no fear" of the White House administration and would continue to denounce the horrors of war.
The president's comments came after the pope had spoken out, with growing force, against the US-Israeli war on Iran and the Trump administration's immigration policies.
"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social late on Sunday.
Trump later posted an AI-generated image depicting himself as Jesus, with the US flag and the Statue of Liberty in the background.
'Someone has to stand up'
Pope Leo, the first pontiff from the US, responded on Monday by saying he would keep raising his voice against conflict, adding that the Christian message, rooted in the primacy of peace, was being "abused".
It is extremely unusual for a pope, who leads Catholics around the world, to answer a foreign leader publicly.
"I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems," Leo told Reuters aboard a papal flight to Algiers, where he is embarking on a 10-day tour to four African countries.
"Too many people are suffering in the world today," he said. "Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there's a better way."
Speaking to other reporters, the pope said: "I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly."
Catholics on social media lambasted Trump for attacking the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church, who they believe is the successor of St. Peter, one of Jesus' 12 apostles.
"There is no ambiguity about the situation now," Massimo Faggioli, an expert on the papacy, told Reuters.
He compared the comments to efforts by the leaders of Germany and Italy during World War Two to draw the late Pope Pius XII to support their causes.
"Not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the pope so directly and publicly," said Faggioli.
Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was disheartened by Trump's comments.
"Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the Pope a politician. He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls,” he said in a statement.
Leo, originally from Chicago, is known for choosing his words carefully. He has emerged as an outspoken critic of the conflict with Iran in recent weeks and decried the "madness of war" in a peace appeal on Saturday.
Last year, he questioned whether the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies were in line with the Church's pro-life teachings, and called for a "deep reflection" about the way migrants are being treated in the United States.
"Someone who says, 'I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States', I don't know if that's pro-life," the pontiff said in September.
Trump wrote in his post on Sunday that "Leo should get his act together as Pope" and "focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician".
Trump's broadside against Leo also accused him of being "weak on nuclear weapons", several days after the pope said the U.S. president's threat to destroy Iranian civilization was "truly unacceptable".
Pope says he is not a politician
In a speech on Palm Sunday last month in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, the pope said God rejected the prayers of leaders who start wars and have their "hands full of blood," calling the conflict in Iran "atrocious".
Leo has also called on Trump to find an "off-ramp" to end the conflict and "decrease the amount of violence".
In his post, Trump suggested that Leo was only elected to lead the Catholic Church last year "because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump".
Leo said on Monday that he was not a politician and did not want to be drawn into a debate with Trump.
"The message of the Church, my message, the message of the Gospel: Blessed are the Peacemakers. I do not look at my role as being political, a politician," he said.
Trump also had a rocky relationship with Leo's predecessor, Pope Francis, who criticised Trump's immigration policy proposals when he first ran for president and suggested Trump was "not a Christian".
