Pope Leo XIV warned that democracies descending into tyranny after attacks from US ‌President Donald Trump.

• Pope Leo warned that democracies could slide into tyranny.
• The pope is a growing critic of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
• Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed support for Pope Leo.

Pope Leo warned of the risk of democracies sliding into “majoritarian tyranny” on Tuesday, in a letter issued by the Vatican two days after US ‌President Donald Trump attacked the pontiff on social media.

The first US pope, writing to participants of a Vatican meeting about the use of power in democratic societies, said democracies remained healthy only when they were rooted in moral values.

“Lacking this foundation, (democracy) risks becoming either ⁠a majoritarian tyranny or a mask for the dominance of economic and technological elites,” said Leo in the letter.

The text, released as the pope was undertaking an ambitious, 10-day tour of four African countries, did not directly address the US or name any specific democracies.

Trump sharply criticised Leo as “terrible” on Sunday night, after the pope had emerged in recent weeks as a growing critic of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

READ | Don’t want to get into ‘debate with him’: How Trump’s feud with Pope on war could backfire

Leo told Reuters ‌on ⁠Monday that he planned to keep criticising the war, despite Trump’s comments.

In Tuesday’s letter, the pope said the Catholic Church taught that power could not be seen as an end in itself “but as a means ordered toward ⁠the common good”.

“This implies that the legitimacy of authority depends not on the accumulation of economic or technological strength, but on the wisdom and virtue ⁠with which it is exercised,” said Leo.

The pope also urged leaders in democratic societies to avoid any temptation to hoard power.

“Temperance ... proves ⁠essential for the legitimate use of authority, for true temperance restrains inordinate self-exaltation and acts as a guardrail against the abuse of power,” he said.

AFP reported that after Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni issued an initial mild statement of support for Pope Leo against Trump’s broadside on Monday, Meloni issued clearer criticism the same day, saying the US leader’s words were “unacceptable”.

Meloni received a sharp rebuke from Trump and suspended a defence agreement with Israel on Tuesday, signalling a shift in her foreign relations.

Speaking on the sidelines of a wine fair in northern Italy on Tuesday, Meloni returned to the subject of ties with Israel and the US, saying that allies should be frank with each other.

“When we don’t agree, and I often don’t agree, we have to say it” and “act accordingly”, she told reporters.

Meloni said:

Her growing criticism of Trump got a strong response on Tuesday.

“I’m shocked at her. I thought she had courage, but I was wrong,” Trump told Corriere della Sera in an interview.

Echoing her criticism of his attack on the pope, Trump told Corriere that it was she who was “unacceptable”.

“She’s unacceptable because she doesn’t mind that Iran has a nuclear weapon and would blow up Italy in two minutes if they had the chance.”

Referring to her refusal to get involved in the Middle East, he said: “She thinks America should do the job for her, she should not be involved.”

Meloni’s allies and political opponents were swift to offer support.

“We are and remain staunch supporters of Western unity and steadfast allies of the United States, but this unity is built on mutual loyalty, respect, and honesty,” Foreign Minister Tajani said on X.

He said that until now, Trump considered Meloni a courageous person, and “he was not mistaken, but she is a woman who never shies away from saying what she thinks”.

“And on Pope Leo XIV, she said exactly what all of us Italians think. The prime minister and the government defend and will always defend only and solely the interests of Italy,” he said.