Pope Leo responds to Trump criticism over Iran and peace remarks
Pope Leo has responded to criticism from Donald Trump by saying his mission is to preach the Gospel and peace, after the US president accused him of endangering Catholics over comments on Iran and the Middle East.
The pope said anyone was free to criticise him, but added that he hoped to be listened to because of the value of God's words.
He said the Church's mission was to preach peace and repeated that he would continue to call for it.
The exchange comes as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio is due at the Vatican for a two-day visit.
The State Department said the trip would focus on bilateral relations, the situation in the Middle East and mutual interests in the Western Hemisphere.
The row matters because it has brought a public disagreement over the war in the Middle East into the centre of US-Vatican relations.
It has also drawn in wider diplomatic contacts involving Italy and the Holy See.
Trump said this week that the pope was "endangering a lot of Catholics and a lot of people" because he believed it was fine for Iran to have a nuclear weapon.
The pope has denied saying that and has opposed the US and Israel's war on Iran.
