Pope says he regrets his remarks interpreted as a debate with Trump

Pope Leo XIV looks on as he arrives at the Presidential Palace to meet with Angolan President Joao Lourenco in Luanda, Angola, April 18, 2026. REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane/Pool GUGLIELMO MANGIAPANE / REUTERS

Pope Leo XIV said on Saturday, April 18, that he regretted that remarks he made were interpreted as a response to criticism from President Donald Trump, insisting he had no interest in debating the US leader. An example was a speech about "tyrants" ransacking the world that he delivered in Cameroon on Thursday during the second leg of a tour of Africa, Leo told journalists as he traveled to Angola.

The remarks had been written well before Trump's "comment on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting," he said. "And yet it was perceived as if I were trying to start a new debate with the president, which doesn't interest me at all," Leo said. "Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary trying to interpret what has been said," he said.

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Pope Leo XIV denounces 'a handful of tyrants' destroying the world during visit to Cameroon