'Woe to Those Who Manipulate Religion,' Pope Says Amid Standoff With Trump

BAMENDA, Cameroon -- Pope Leo XIV is not backing down.

Amid a growing dispute with the Trump administration over the legitimacy of U.S. attacks in Iran, Leo used a speech Thursday in Cameroon to express "woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth."

"Blessed are the peacemakers," he said, adding, "The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants, yet it is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters."

The pope was speaking in a region of Cameroon where separatists have been clashing with the government for a decade, and he praised local religious leaders seeking to end that conflict.

But against the backdrop of American efforts to use Christian theology to justify the Iran campaign, the pope's words seemed as directed at the Trump administration as they were at separatist leaders and the government of Paul Biya, 93, the world's oldest president and an authoritarian who has ruled Cameroon for more than 40 years.

The Trump administration has sought to portray its war in Iran as a "just war" backed by the will of God and Jesus Christ. Leo has stridently disagreed, saying previously that Jesus "does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war."

That led to an extraordinary broadside Sunday from President Donald Trump, who attacked the pope on social media as "terrible on foreign policy."

On Monday, as the pope left for a tour through four countries in Africa, he said he had "no fear" of the Trump administration and would continue to protest war and speak out "loudly about the message of the Gospel." The Trump administration continued to needle him, with Vice President JD Vance saying Tuesday that Leo should be more "careful when he talks about matters of theology."

On Wednesday, the pope traveled to Cameroon, where he immediately spoke against the authoritarian rule of Biya. In a speech at the presidential palace Wednesday, Leo said that "public authorities are called to serve as bridges, never as sources of division" and that "authentic peace arises when everyone feels protected, heard and respected, when the law serves as a secure safeguard against the whims of the rich and powerful."

On Thursday, Leo traveled to Bamenda, an English-speaking region of Cameroon, which is led by a French-speaking national government. A violent secessionist movement centered in Bamenda has divided the country over the past decade.

Although the pope has not referred specifically to Trump or his administration since Monday, his words in Bamenda seemed to extend beyond local conflicts in Cameroon.

"The masters of war," he said, "pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy, yet often a lifetime is oft not enough to rebuild. They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation."

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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This story was originally published April 16, 2026 at 11:07 AM.