The Pope, known for his careful choice of words, had positioned himself as a staunch critic of the Iran war that was launched by the USA and Israel at the end of February. The Pope called Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization unacceptable.
He also called for reflection on the treatment of migrants in the USA.
Pope Leo stuck to his stance at the start of the week. “I will continue to speak out loudly against the war,” he told the Reuters news agency on a flight to Algiers at the start of a trip to Africa. He wants to promote peace and advance dialogue and relations between states in order to find just solutions to problems. There is too much suffering at the moment. “Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone needs to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
Meloni’s criticism of Trump was decidedly unusual. She was the only European head of government to take part in the inauguration celebrations in the USA in 2025. In an initial reaction to Trump’s criticism, she supported Leo, but did not explicitly respond to Trump’s attack. The opposition in Italy therefore accused her of not having the courage to criticize Trump directly. She then made her second statement. Meloni’s previous closeness to Trump could become a political liability for her: polls show that two-thirds of Italians are hostile to Trump.
