The Pope has denied his comments that the world is 'being ravaged by tyrants' were a criticism of Donald Trump amid an ongoing feud between the two leaders.
Pope Leo XIV made the unusually forceful remarks during a trip to Cameroon on Thursday after the US President launched a tirade against him over his repeated criticism of the war in Iran.
Leo, the first American pope, also decried leaders who use religious language to justify wars and urged a 'decisive change of course'.
However, he said today he regrets his 'tyrant' remarks were interpreted as a response to criticism from Trump, insisting he has no interest in debating the US leader.
The Pontiff, 70, claimed they had been written well before Trump's 'comment on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting'.
'And yet it was perceived as if I were trying to start a new debate with the president, which doesn't interest me at all,' Leo said.
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