Pope Leo hit back at President Donald Trump’s attack on him over the war in Iran as Trump deleted a social media post depicting himself as a Christ-like figure that many found offensive.

“I have no fear of the Trump administration, or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel,” the pope said Monday. “(That) is what I believe I am here to do.”

The first American-born pontiff told reporters his appeals for peace are based on the Bible’s message and not a political attack on Trump.

“I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems,” he said. “I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”

Asked directly about Trump’s derisive statements and posts on his social media site, the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics suggested Trump should steer clear of spiritual matters.

“It’s ironic,” Leo said. “Say no more.”

The war of words erupted as Trump posted, then later deleted, an image of himself depicted as a Christ-like figure healing the sick.

Trump said didn’t intend to compare himself to Jesus, but sought to take credit for unspecified steps to improve people’s health.

“I did post it, and I thought it was me as a doctor,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “It had to do with the Red Cross ... which we support.”

“It was supposed to be me as a doctor, making people better,” he added.

Trump blamed the media for twisting the meaning of the post.

The decision to delete the photo from his feed marks a serious climb down for the social media-savvy leader. When Trump drew criticism for a meme that depicted former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama as apes, he blamed the offensive post on an unnamed underling and deleted it but refused to apologize.

Even some MAGA loyalists suggested the religious-themed post, apparently generated by artificial intelligence, was blasphemous or tasteless at the very least.

“Does he actually think this?” wrote Riley Gaines, a prominent Trump supporter. “God shall not be mocked.”

Newark, New Jersey, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who defended Leo’s anti-war stance on CBS News’ “60 Minutes,” called the meme posted by Trump “the graphic exploitation of sacred imagery.”

“(It) is deeply offensive and undermines the reverence owed to what believers hold most dear,” Rev. Tobin told The New York Times.

The pope’s comments Monday came in response to Trump’s remarkable attacks on him over Iran and other issues like crime and undocumented immigration.

“Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” the president wrote on his social media site, adding, “I don’t want a Pope who thinks it’s OK for Iran to have a Nuclear Weapon.”

Trump told reporters the pope is not “doing a very good job,” while also suggesting the pontiff should “stop catering to the radical left.”

“I’m not a fan of Pope Leo,” he added.

Trump refused to back down or say sorry to the spiritual leader.

“Pope Leo said things that are wrong,” he said. “There’s nothing (for me) to apologize for.”

American Catholic spiritual leaders came down firmly on the side of the Holy Father.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called Trump’s remarks “disheartening.”

“Pope Leo is not his rival; nor is the pope a politician,” Coakley said. “He is the Vicar of Christ who speaks from the truth of the Gospel and for the care of souls.”

Leaders of the Brooklyn diocese and the New York archdiocese did not immediately comment. Prominent Catholics in the Trump administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, a convert to Catholicism, did not comment.

Bishop Manuel de Jesus Rodriguez, who oversees the diocese of Palm Beach, Florida, that includes Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, said the president was “disrespectful” to Leo.

“These attacks also constitute a grave violation of the freedom of religion enshrined in the Constitution of the United States and, as such, harm the rights of American Catholic faithful,” tweeted Rev. Rodriguez, a Dominican immigrant who previously led a congregation in Corona, Queens.

The feud between two of the world’s most powerful leaders erupted as the pope has repeatedly called for an end to the U.S.-Israeli war in the Middle East.

The conflict has led to widespread devastation in Iran and Lebanon, where Israel has launched massive attacks at what it says are targets linked to Hezbollah.

The Trump administration has taken the unusual step of invoking the Christian faith as backing the war against Iran.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth regularly invokes the name of Jesus Christ and says Christian prayers to extol the supposed virtues of the attacks that have killed thousands of civilians in Iran, Lebanon and across the Middle East.

White House officials framed as an “Easter miracle” the rescue of two American airmen whose fighter jet was shot down in Iran.

The U.S. military includes service members of all faiths along with those who don’t believe in God at all, and top brass have in the recent past sought to avoid imposing any one faith on the ranks.

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