{"text":[[{"start":10.19,"text":"Donald Trump launched a strong attack on Pope Leo in a social media post on Sunday evening, accusing the head of the Catholic Church of being “weak” on crime and “terrible” for foreign policy. "}],[{"start":24.43,"text":"“I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “I don’t want a Pope who criticizes the President of the United States because I’m doing exactly what I was elected, IN A LANDSLIDE, to do.”"}],[{"start":41.019999999999996,"text":"Pope Leo, the first US-born pontiff, has been outspoken in his criticism of the US-Israeli war against Iran, describing Trump’s threat to wipe out Iranian civilisation as “truly unacceptable”. "}],[{"start":56.9,"text":"In evening prayers at the St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City on Saturday, the pope warned of a “delusion of omnipotence” that is “becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive”. "}],[{"start":69.6,"text":"Although he did not mention the war in Iran directly, his remarks were interpreted as some of his most critical of the conflict to date. "}],[{"start":78.58999999999999,"text":"In his social media post on Sunday night, Trump said Leo would not even be the pontiff if it were not for him."}],[{"start":87.83999999999999,"text":"“He wasn’t on any list to be Pope, and was only put there by the Church because he was an American, and they thought that would be the best way to deal with President Donald J. Trump. If I wasn’t in the White House, Leo wouldn’t be in the Vatican.”"}],[{"start":103.32999999999998,"text":"Trump added: “Leo should get his act together as Pope, use Common Sense, stop catering to the Radical Left, and focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”"}],[{"start":115.10999999999999,"text":"Senior US officials, most notably defence secretary Pete Hegseth, have often invoked religious rhetoric when describing the Iran conflict. "}],[{"start":125.60999999999999,"text":"In a press conference last week, Hegseth said that US bombing raids had been carried out “under the protection of divine providence”."}],[{"start":135.89999999999998,"text":"Trump’s tirade against the Chicago-born pope comes as US officials have sought to quell reports last week that a top defence official had issued a veiled threat against the Vatican over Leo’s criticism of the war."}],[{"start":151.64999999999998,"text":"A January meeting between Cardinal Christophe Pierre, at the time the papal nuncio — the Vatican ambassador to the US — and under-secretary of defence Elbridge Colby, reportedly soured after Pierre said Pope Leo would follow his own course guided by Church values."}],[{"start":171.08999999999997,"text":"A US official present — not Colby — reportedly invoked the 14th century Avignon papacy, in which the king of France established his own loyal “antipope” in opposition to Rome. This was read as an implicit threat that Washington could set up a rival pope in opposition to Leo if did not more closely toe Washington’s line."}],[{"start":195.37999999999997,"text":"The Pentagon has described the account as “highly exaggerated and distorted”."}],[{"start":201.30999999999997,"text":"In his post on Truth Social on Sunday, Trump also criticised the pope for meeting with David Axelrod, who was a top aide to former president Barack Obama, accusing the pontiff of catering to the “radical left.” "}],[{"start":217.34999999999997,"text":"Leo reportedly met with the former Obama strategist at the Vatican last week. "}],[{"start":224.29999999999995,"text":"Trump later posted an apparently AI-generated image of himself on social media in which he appeared as Jesus, surrounded by eagles and US troops, touching the forehead of a man lying in a hospital bed. "}],[{"start":249.19999999999993,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1776057628_5643.mp3"}