“Trump says meeting with Pope Leo is ‘not necessary’ to iron out Iran war differences”

This is from ZEALE, a relatively new Catholic daily newsletter. Note Trump says “I’m all about the Gospel”…

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Trump said he has “no disagreement with the fact the pope can say what he wants, and I want him to say what he wants, but I can disagree.”

“I want him to preach the Gospel. I’m all about the Gospel,” Trump said of Pope Leo at another point. “But I also know you cannot let a certain country, which is a very mean-spirited country, have a nuclear weapon. If they did, they would use it, and I think they’d use it quickly, and they would kill many millions of people.”

Trump argued that the Holy Father “has to understand” that if Iran did have a nuclear weapon, “every country — including Italy, where he’s stationed — every single country in the world would be in trouble.”

When asked if he would meet with Pope Leo in person to work out their differences, Trump said, “I don’t think it’s necessary.”

The remarks follow multiple public condemnations Trump has directed at the Holy Father in recent days. In a scathing April 12 post on Truth Social, Trump called Pope Leo “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy.” He also said the Pontiff should “get his act together as Pope” and claimed credit for his election, as Zeale News previously reported.

In a separate April 14 post, Trump wrote, “Will someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed at least 42,000 innocent, completely unarmed, protesters in the last two months, and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable.”

On April 13, Pope Leo told reporters that he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and will continue to proclaim the message of the Gospel, which is “what I believe I am called to do, what the Church is called to do.”