The Italian premier said she disagrees with the current US administration’s actions, particularly when it comes to the war in the Middle East and the recent comments made by US President Donald Trump about Pope Leo XIV.
Giorgia Meloni made the comments during a visit at a international wine fair in Verona, telling reporters that "when you have friends and when you have allies, especially when they are strategic ones, you must have the courage to speak when you disagree.”
“This is what I do every day, when I agree I say I agree, and when I disagree I say that I disagree, because I believe this is good for Europe, the United States and the West in general,” she added.
Meloni also confirmed what she declared earlier after Trump attacked the head of the Catholic Church.
Pope Leo XIV faced an extraordinary broadside by President Donald Trump over his criticism of the US-Israeli war with Iran.
The Italian premier had said in an earlier note that she found “unacceptable the words of President Trump against the Holy Father".
“The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church and it's right and normal that he is invoking peace and is condemning every war,” the statement read.
“I expressed my solidarity with Pope Leo. And I will tell you more, I would feel uncomfortable in a society where religious leaders do as they are told by politicians, not in this part of the world, so I disagreed and I said so,” she confirmed to reporters.
Speaking to Corriere della Sera, Trump said he was "shocked" by Meloni's opposition.
"She doesn't care if Iran has a nuclear weapon and would let it blow Italy to smithereens in two minutes if it could."
NZ's voice at the Vatican defends Pope
Cardinal John Dew, emeritus Archbishop of Wellington, was among the group that participated in last year's conclave that elected Pope Leo.
He said the Pope addressing the war followed a tradition of "speaking out for peace, justice and harmony".
"Popes have always had a critical role to play in assessing and speaking out about moral issues through the lens of the Gospel. They carry out that task without fear of criticism or condemnation."
He said it was a "moral issue when people are being attacked, when whole nations are being threatened, which means that people are losing their lives, losing their livelihood, their homes are being destroyed, and they are being left homeless".
"The Pope has the right to speak out for peace and plead for peace."
Cardinal Dew said that during the conclave, there was a sense that Prevost, now Pope Leo, was a man who would "speak clearly and calmly on matters of global significance".
"He has been doing that for almost a year now as Pope, but had done so for many years before.
"Pope Leo heard from the cardinals about the importance of speaking out about world peace — at that time, it was about Russia and Ukraine, and about Israel and Palestine.
"He certainly heard from the cardinals that working for peace and speaking out for peace was something that he would need to be doing, and which he is doing, very clearly and strongly, with the message of the Gospel behind everything he says."
- Additional reporting by 1News
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