Pope Leo XIV on Saturday said he regretted remarks he made were interpreted as a response to criticism from US President Donald Trump, insisting he had no interest in debating the American leader.

The remarks had been written well before Trump's "comment on myself and on the message of peace that I am promoting," he said.

"And yet it was perceived as if I were trying to start a new debate with the president, which doesn't interest me at all," Leo said.

"Much of what has been written since then has been more commentary on commentary trying to interpret what has been said," he said.

Leo had blasted "tyrants" ransacking the world on Thursday while on a high-security visit to Cameroon's northwestern city of Bamenda, the epicentre of a nearly decade-long separatist insurgency that has killed thousands.

The remarks were interpreted by the US media in particular as a reference to Trump.

But they were written well before Trump's criticisms, Leo said, adding "there's been a certain narrative that has not been accurate in all of its aspects".

Trump had said on April 12 he was "not a big fan of Pope Leo", and accused him of "toying with a country (Iran) that wants a nuclear weapon".

He later doubled down on his comments to reporters with a post on Truth Social, saying: "I don't want a Pope who thinks it's OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon."

"Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy," the US leader said. (AFP)


Edited by Tony Sabine