Pope Leo | DD News

May 8, 2026 11:49 AM

Pope Leo, Rubio commit to stronger ties, Vatican says, amid Trump tensions

Pope Leo and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio jointly committed at a meeting on Thursday to improving relations between the Vatican and Washington, at a time when President Donald Trumph as repeatedly attacked the pontiff. Leo and Rubio "renewed the shared commitment to fostering good bilateral relations," the Vatican said in a statement after the first meeting between the pope and a Trump cabinet official in nearly a year, amid an atmosphere of tension with Washington. Leo, the first U.S. ...

May 6, 2026 9:20 AM

Rubio expects to discuss religious freedom with Pope Leo after Trump blasts pontiff

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday he expected to discuss Cuba and concerns over religious freedom around the world with Pope Leo during his visit to the Vatican on Thursday, after President Donald Trump took a fresh potshot at the pope for criticising the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran. The U.S. ambassador to the Holy See said earlier that Rubio and the pope would "have a frank conversation about U.S. policy, to engage in dialogue." "Nations have disagreements, and I think one...

April 22, 2026 4:34 PM

Pope decries inequality on whirlwind last day of Africa tour

Pope Leo used the last full day of his four-nation Africa tour on Wednesday to speak out against wealth inequality, urging believers to work to bridge the gap between rich and poor as he traversed oil-rich Equatorial Guinea. The pope, who has attracted the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump after becoming more outspoken against war and despotism, was also due to visit a high-security prison that human rights groups say holds political prisoners in abusive conditions. Leo, the first U.S. pope, ...

April 16, 2026 3:18 PM

Pope Leo to hold peace meeting in Cameroon amid Trump attacks

Pope Leo was travelling to the biggest city in Cameroon's conflict-hit anglophone region on Thursday, the latest stop on an ambitious four-country Africa tour amid attacks on the pontiff by U.S. President Donald Trump. Trump's attacks on Leo, who has emerged as a vocal critic of the Iran war, have caused dismay in Africa, where more than a fifth of the world's Catholics live. Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, joined in on Tuesday, saying the pope was wrong to say t...

April 15, 2026 9:03 PM

Pope Leo, attacked again by Trump, says world needs message of peace

Pope Leo said on Wednesday that the world needs to hear a message of peace and coexistence, after U.S. President Donald Trump attacked him for a second time this week on social media. Speaking on his flight from Algeria to Cameroon for the second leg of a whirlwind 10-day Africa tour, the first U.S. pontiff urged respect for all people and said his travels so far had shown the importance of pursuing dialogue between different communities. "Although we have different beliefs, we have different ...

April 15, 2026 9:54 AM

Pope Leo issues warning on democracy after Trump criticism

Pope Leo warned of the risk of democracies sliding into "majoritarian tyranny" on Tuesday, in a letter issued by the Vatican two days after U.S. President Donald Trumpattacked the pontiff on social media. The first U.S. pope, writing to participants of a Vatican meeting about the use of power in democratic societies, said democracies remained healthy only when they were rooted in moral values. "Lacking this foundation, (democracy) risks becoming either a majoritarian tyranny or a mask f...

April 13, 2026 3:06 PM

Pope says he will continue to speak out against war after Trump attack

Pope Leo said on Monday that he plans to continue speaking out against war after U.S. President Donald Trump's direct attack on the leader of the 1.4-billion-member Church. In comments aboard the papal flight to Algiers, where the first U.S. pope is starting a 10-day tour to four African countries, the pontiff also said the Christian message was being "abused". "I don't want to get into a debate with him," Leo told Reuters as he greeted journalists on the plane. "I don't think that the message...

December 1, 2025 10:57 AM

Pope Leo: Palestinian state ‘only’ solution to Israeli conflict

Pope Leo said on Sunday that the only solution in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people must include a Palestinian state, reaffirming the Vatican's position. "We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution," Leo, the first U.S. pope, told journalists on a flight from Turkey to Lebanon during his first in-flight press conference. "We are also friends with Israel and we are seeking to be a mediating voice...

November 29, 2025 4:44 PM

Pope removes shoes but doesn’t pray on visit to Istanbul’s Blue Mosque

Pope Leo visited Istanbul's Blue Mosque on Saturday, removing his shoes in a sign of respect but not appearing to pray in his first visit as leader of the Catholic Church to a Muslim place of worship during his four-day visit to Turkey. The first U.S. pope bowed slightly before entering the mosque and was led on a tour of the expansive complex, able to hold 10,000 worshippers, by its imam and the mufti of Istanbul. Leo, walking in white socks, smiled during the 20-minute visit and joked with o...

November 28, 2025 9:36 AM

Pope Leo warns of conflicts endangering humanity on first overseas trip

Pope Leo lamented during his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday that the world was seeing an unusual number of bloody conflicts, and warned that a third world war was being "fought piecemeal" with humanity's future at risk. In his first speech given overseas since his election in May to lead the 1.4 billion-member Church, Leo, the first U.S. pope, said "ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace" were destabilising the world. He told political leaders in Turke...