Archbishop of Canterbury backs Pope Leo amid spat with Trump

LONDON — The Archbishop of Canterbury, Sarah Mullally, threw her support behind Pope Leo on Thursday, urging 85 million Anglicans worldwide to speak out for peace after US President Donald Trump attacked the Pope over his criticism of the war in Iran.

In her first public comments addressing Trump's criticism, the leader of the Church of England signaled her solidarity with Leo, who has emerged as an outspoken critic of the war in recent weeks.

"I stand with my brother in Christ, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, in his courageous call for a kingdom of peace," Mullally, the spiritual head of the Anglican Communion, said in a statement.

"As innocent people are killed and displaced, families torn apart, and futures destroyed, the human cost of war is incalculable. It is the calling of every Christian—and of all people of faith and goodwill—to work and pray for peace."

Earlier on Thursday, the Pope, speaking during a visit to Cameroon as part of a four-country tour of Africa, blasted leaders who spend billions on wars and said the world was "being ravaged by a handful of tyrants."

He also sharply criticized leaders who invoked religious themes to justify wars.

Trump, who has been using religious rhetoric to rally his core supporters behind the war in Iran, according to religious and political experts, called the pope "WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy" in a social media post on Sunday.

Mullally also called on Christians to urge those with political authority to pursue "every possible peaceful and just means of resolving conflict." — Reuters