Anglican Church leader praises Pope's 'courageous' peace call amid Trump attacks

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LONDON - Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally, the new leader of the world's Anglicans, on Thursday hailed Pope Leo XIV's "courageous call" for peace following a war of words with US President Donald Trump.

"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," Mullally said in a statement.

Trump on Sunday criticised Pope Leo after he called for an end to violence in the Iran war, accusing the pontiff of being weak. He then refused to apologise, saying the pope "said things that are wrong".

The pope on Monday said he had a "moral duty" to speak against war and did not "fear" Trump.

On Thursday, while visiting Cameroon, the pope warned that the world "is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants," Vatican News reported.

Mullally was enthroned in March as Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman to head the Church of England, the mother church of the 85-million-strong global Anglican communion.

She is due to meet the pope in Rome on a four-day visit beginning April 25.

In her statement on Thursday, the archbishop urged Anglicans to "join with His Holiness (the pope) in raising our voices for peace and justice".

"In a time marked by hatred, division, and violence, may we be steadfast in that calling," she added.