The Archbishop of Canterbury has said she stands in solidarity with Pope Leo in his calls for peace, after Donald Trump called him “weak” and “terrible”.
Most Reverend Sarah Mullally has called on those across the Anglican Communion to join the Pope “in raising our voices for peace and justice throughout the world”.
It comes as Pope Leo warned that the world is “being ravaged by a handful of tyrants” during a speech in Cameroon.
Earlier this week, President Trump launched a war of words against the leader of the Catholic Church. He said Pope Leo should “focus on being a Great Pope, not a politician” after criticising the Iran war.
Archbishop Sarah said: “I stand with my brother in Christ, His Holiness Pope XIV, in his courageous call for a kingdom of peace.
“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. We must also urge all those entrusted with political authority to pursue every possible peaceful and just means of resolving conflict.
Archbishop Sarah, who will visit Pope Leo in Rome later this month, shared that she was “mindful of his call to keep our eyes open to the suffering of the world, and our gaze fixed on our crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ – the image of the invisible God, in whose image and likeness every human being is made.
“As Christians, we are called to stand in solidarity with all who suffer, and to respond with compassion and love. Christ’s self-giving life, lived for the sake of others, reminds us that the command to love God with all our heart is inseparable from the call to love our neighbour as ourselves, especially the neighbour who suffers, who is displaced, who lives in fear, and who longs for peace.”
Archbishop Sarah said she was reminded of “how many conflicts continue beyond the front pages of our news” that need prayer, having spent time with Anglican Primates during her installation ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral.
“In a time marked by hatred, division, and violence, may we be steadfast in that calling – witnesses to hope, agents of reconciliation, and bearers of God’s peace in a wounded world," Archbishop Sarah’s statement concluded.
Speaking on Thursday during his tour of Africa, Pope Leo continued to criticise the war.
He said: “Blessed are the peacemakers But woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth.”