Pope Leo says he was not seeking to debate Donald Trump when he criticised "tyrants" for spending billions on wars in a speech earlier this week.
The pontiff said the remarks, delivered days after a high-profile spat with the US president, had been written a fortnight earlier – "well before the president ever commented on myself".
"And yet as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not in my interest at all," he told reporters aboard a flight to Angola on Saturday.
On Monday, Trump launched a scathing attack on the first American Pope – who has been a vocal critic of the US-Israeli military operation in Iran – as "terrible for foreign policy".
The Pope, who is on a tour of Africa, said a "certain narrative that has not been accurate" had developed, citing "the political situation created" by Trump's comments.
In response to the pontiff's latest remarks, US Vice-President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism as an adult, said he was "grateful to Pope Leo for saying this".
"While the media narrative constantly gins up conflict - and yes, real disagreements have happened and will happen - the reality is often much more complicated," Vance added.
Earlier in the week - before the Pope's speech referring to "tyrants" - Vance had urged the Vatican to "stick to matters of morality".
During the speech in Cameroon on Thursday, the Pope had criticised leaders who "turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education and restoration are nowhere to be found".
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce84j261kj1o
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