Pope Leo XIV responded after the latest attack by US President Donald Trump.
He said that by speaking about peace, he intended to spread the Christian message, but that people are free to criticize him.
"The mission of the Church is to preach the Gospel, to preach peace," said the first American Pope, writes reuters.
"If anyone wants to criticize me for preaching the Gospel... I hope they will simply listen to me about the values of God's words," he added.
Trump earlier in the day criticized Pope Leo again, this time ahead of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's visit to the Vatican, scheduled for this week.
Trump, on a radio show hosted by conservative Hugh Hewitt, accused Leon of "putting a lot of Catholics and other people at risk," claiming he apparently believes "it's okay for Iran to have nuclear weapons." /Telegraph
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