Pope Leo XIV said during a visit to Cameroon that the commandment to love one’s neighbor applies to international relations. The remark came as the pontiff continues to exchange public statements with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance over U.S. foreign policy.
Speaking to national authorities and the diplomatic corps in Yaoundé on April 15, the pope said governing a country means caring for one’s own nation as well as neighboring ones. “The commandment ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ is equally applicable to international relations,” he said, according to a Vatican transcript of the address.
Leo said peace is “everyone’s responsibility, beginning with civil authorities.” He added that governing involves listening to citizens and valuing their ability to help build lasting solutions to problems. The pope did not name the United States or any U.S. official in his speech. He spoke as Cameroon faces an ongoing conflict between government forces and separatist groups.
The pope’s comments follow days of public friction between the Vatican and the White House. Trump posted on Truth Social earlier in April that Leo is “WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy.” The president added that he does not want a pope who thinks it is acceptable for Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Leo had previously called Trump’s threats against Iran “truly unacceptable”.
Vice President Vance pushed back against the pope’s position on the Iran war during a Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia, on April 14. Vance asked whether God was on the side of Americans who liberated France from Nazis and who freed Holocaust survivors. “I think it’s very, very important for the pope to be careful when he talks about matters of theology,” Vance said.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops responded the following day. Auxiliary Bishop James Massa of Brooklyn, who chairs the conference’s Committee on Doctrine, issued a statement defending the pope’s authority. “When Pope Leo speaks as supreme pastor of the universal Church, he is not merely offering opinions on theology, he is preaching the Gospel and exercising his ministry as the Vicar of Christ,” Bishop Massa said. He noted that the Catholic Church’s just war tradition requires military action to be taken only in self-defense after all peace efforts have failed.
The disagreement over foreign policy marks the latest chapter in a longer pattern of tension between Leo and the Trump administration. The pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, has previously criticized the administration’s immigration enforcement policies. In October 2025, he questioned whether supporters of what he called the “inhuman treatment of immigrants” could truly consider themselves pro-life. More recently, in December, Leo expressed concern over U.S. military action in Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro, urging dialogue over force.
Leo arrived in Cameroon on April 13 for a 10-day visit to Africa. He is scheduled to travel to other countries on the continent before returning to Rome.