UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his support for Pope Leo XIV after U.S. President Donald Trump criticized the pontiff for his positions on international conflicts.

The principles of dialogue and conflict prevention govern cooperation between the Holy See and the multilateral organization.

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Guterres’ spokesperson, Stéphane Dujarric, stated at a press conference that “the Secretary-General has immense respect for Pope Leo XIV.” Dujarric added that both leaders “share many common sensibilities regarding conflict prevention, the promotion of peace, and respect for human dignity.”

These statements reinforce the strategic alignment between the Vatican and the UN in the area of ​​preventive diplomacy.

The Pope received Guterres in June in an audience at the Vatican, where he reaffirmed the Holy See’s support for the UN in its pursuit of world peace. This meeting underscores the continued joint work in scenarios of geopolitical tension, including the cases of Iran and Venezuela.

The controversy erupted after Trump attacked Leo XIV through his Truth Social network, accusing him of being “terrible on foreign policy” and of “pleasing to the radical left.”

The president questioned the pope’s positions regarding nuclear programs and national sovereignty. “I don’t want a pope who thinks it’s okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. I don’t want a pope who thinks it’s terrible that the United States attacked Venezuela (…). And I don’t want a pope who criticizes the president of the United States when I am doing exactly what I was elected to do,” Trump wrote.

The U.S. president urged the pontiff to “get his act together” and “use common sense,” exhorting him to “focus on being a great pope, not a politician.” Previously, the Pope had urged world leaders to refrain from any “display of force” and to “sit down at the table for dialogue and mediation,” in a message delivered during negotiations between the US and Iran in Pakistan, a process he chose not to explicitly mention.

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