Earlier this week, Pope Leo XIV’s public position on the war in Iran put him on a collision course with U.S. President Donald Trump, and Brazil’s president entered the dispute by publicly backing the pope.
On Wednesday, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said in a video message that Pope Leo XIV should be defended from “powerful people” who have recently criticized the pontiff, framing the pope’s position as aligned with peace and defending people under threat.
Lula, who is 80 and is seeking reelection in October, sent the video message to a gathering of Brazil’s national conference of bishops while he was traveling in Cameroon, according to the Associated Press.
“My deepest solidarity to Pope Leo XIV. Throughout mankind’s history, advocates for peace and for the oppressed have been attacked by powerful people who think they are deities to be adored,” Lula said in the message, adding: “It’s better to have a heart full of love than the power of weapons and money.”
The comments from the pope and Trump have intensified into a broader exchange, with Leo presenting a peace-focused message and Trump responding directly to the pontiff’s comments about the war in Iran.
In recent days, Pope Leo XIV insisted during his travels that “the message the world needs to hear today” is one of peace and dialogue, and the Associated Press said his remarks come as Trump has “doubled down” on criticism of Leo’s statements against the war.
The spat erupted after Pope Leo XIV said God doesn’t bless those who drop bombs and after the pope also called Trump’s threat to annihilate Iranian civilization “truly unacceptable,” the Associated Press reported.
In turn, the U.S. president argued that Leo is weak on crime and that the pope is “a captive to the left,” and Trump also claimed Leo owed his position to him, according to the Associated Press account.
Whether or not the Vatican and Washington resolve the dispute soon, Lula’s intervention underscored that the fight over Leo’s Iran-war comments has begun to echo across political and religious leadership beyond the United States and the Vatican.
The president’s message also landed in a moment when Pope Leo XIV has been traveling in Africa, extending the pope’s public engagement while the Trump-Leo clash remains in public view.
Lula’s backing adds a new diplomatic layer to the pope-versus-Trump confrontation, bringing Brazil’s domestic political campaign—now centered on his bid for reelection—into the orbit of an international religious dispute.