Pope Leo XIV directly confronted President Trump’s fabricated claims about the Church’s stance on Iranian nuclear weapons, marking an unprecedented moment of papal rebuke of a sitting American president.
In an unprecedented rebuke, Pope Leo XIV has directly challenged President Donald Trump’s repeated false claims that the pontiff approves of Iran possessing nuclear weapons.
After Trump doubled down on May 5th, stating “The pope made a statement. He says Iran can have a nuclear weapon,” the Pope responded with unmistakable clarity. “If anyone wishes to criticize me for proclaiming the gospel, let that person do so truthfully,” Leo said to reporters.
The Pope reaffirmed the Church’s longstanding opposition to all nuclear weapons, emphasizing his mission is “to preach the gospel, to preach peace.”
Never before has a sitting pope directly called out a U.S. president for lying. Trump subsequently hedged his position, saying Leo “seemed to be saying” Iran could possess nuclear weapons, indicating awareness his false claim had been rejected.
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