Pope Leo XIV begins landmark Algeria visit on first leg of Africa tour

ALGIERS — Pope Leo XIV arrived in Algeria on Monday at the start of an 11-day tour of Africa, the first international trip of his papacy that risked being overshadowed by public criticism from US President Donald Trump over his stance on the Iran war. The US-born pope arrived in the capital Algiers at around 0900 GMT and was expected to pay tribute to victims of Algeria’s war of independence from France (1954-1962). His arrival was overshadowed by an escalating feud with Trump, who lambasted the pope as “terrible” and “weak” in a rare public attack prompted by Leo’s stance on the US-Israeli war on Iran. The Pope has been a staunch critic of the war, calling Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization “unacceptable” and calling for him to find an “off-ramp” to end the conflict. But in general it is rare for a pope to directly criticize statements by world leaders. There are more than 70 million Catholics in the US, about 20% of the population. They include Trump’s Vice-President JD Vance. The US president wrote in Sunday’s post that the Pope “should get his act together” and said he was “weak on nuclear weapons”, apparently referring to Tehran’s attempts to become a nuclear power, cited as one of the reasons for the US and Israel going to war with Iran. He also suggested that the pontiff was elected “because he was American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J Trump”. “If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”Asked by reporters later to explain the post, Trump said: “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job, he likes crime, I guess.” He added: “He’s a very liberal person, and he’s a man who doesn’t believe in stopping crime, he’s a man who doesn’t believe we should be toying with a country that wants a nuclear weapon so they can blow up the world.” The remarks drew immediate criticism from Catholics, with one expert comparing the comments to the Pope’s relationship with fascist dictators in World War Two. “Not even Hitler or Mussolini attacked the Pope so directly and publicly,” said Massimo Faggioli, quoted by Reuters. Speaking to reporters aboard the papal plane, Leo said he had “no intention to debate” with the US president. “I am not a politician,” the pontiff said. “The message is the same: to promote peace.” He, however, added: “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems. “Too many people are suffering in the ⁠world today. I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.” — Agencies