Pope Leo feud with Trump overshadows his spiritual homecoming

The pope arrived in Algeria on Monday, the first visit to the country by a sitting pontiff.

On Wednesday he was flying to Cameroon, where separatists announced a three-day pause in deadly violence to allow Leo safe passage to a “peace meeting” Thursday.

From Cameroon, he will go on to Angola and Equatorial Guinea.

The Algerian leg was a religious homecoming.

Leo is a member of the Order of St. Augustine, which was founded on the teachings of the 5th-century saint who lived and studied in the Roman city of Hippo, now modern-day Annaba.

Leo took a pilgrimage to those ruins Tuesday, arriving during a rainstorm with sharpshooters covering the ancient flagstones and colonnades. He prayed in a tent overlooking its theater, market and basilica where Augustine preached. And he planted an olive tree and watched as white doves were released.

This was meant to be a deeply personal, “very special trip” for the pontiff, as he put it aboard his papal plane while en route to Algeria.

After being chosen at the Vatican Conclave last May, he declared himself a “son of St. Augustine” and he has visited this pilgrimage site twice before, while he was superior of the Augustinian order.

The saint “was a bridge of interreligious dialogue, so we must continue to build bridges and reconciliation for all people,” the pope said while in the air. He said the visit to Augustine’s hometown was supposed to be his first as pontiff, but other trips intervened.

Despite this deeply personal storyline, much of the focus this week has remained on Trump’s insults — and the pope declining to back down.

When Trump threatened that Iran’s “whole civilization will die tonight” if it did not agree to his peace terms, Leo labeled that “truly unacceptable.” The president then called the pope “WEAK on crime” and “terrible for Foreign Policy,” before posting a picture appearing to show himself with Christ-like powers, which he later deleted.

The remarks and image caused uproar.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued a rare rebuke of her erstwhile ally, calling Trump’s remarks “unacceptable.” And Archbishop Paul Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he was “disheartened.”

Asked for comment, the White House referred to public statements issued by Trump, who has refused to apologize.

“We believe strongly in law and order, and he seemed to have a problem with that, so there’s nothing to apologize for,” Trump said Monday.

A day later he posted, “Can someone please tell Pope Leo that Iran has killed” thousands of protesters, “and that for Iran to have a Nuclear Bomb is absolutely unacceptable.”