President Donald Trump has been clashing with Pope Leo the 14th for weeks now in a rare and increasingly public dispute between the U.S. President and the head of the Catholic Church.

The Pope has warned against the escalating violence around the world and called for peace and diplomacy.

But Trump has pushed back hard going as far as calling the Pope, quote,

weak on crime and falsely suggesting that he supports Iran having nuclear weapons.

But the Pope says he isn't looking for a fight.

The talk that I gave at the prayer meeting for peace a couple days ago

was prepared two weeks ago, well before the president ever commented on myself and on the message

of peace that I am promoting. And yet, as it happens, it was looked at as if I was trying to debate again the

president, which is not my interest at all. Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt. I'm Dana

Taylor. Today is Tuesday, April 21st, 26. Here to share his insights on the unprecedented feud

between an American president and the Pope

is USA Today World Affairs Correspondent, Kim Helmgard.

Kim, it's great to have you here.

Thanks so much for having me.

You frame your reporting on this as a parable,

not just a political clash.

What does that lens reveal

that straight news coverage might miss?

Yeah, that's a great question. Well, I mean, I should say, like, of course, it's not a parable in the strict sense of, you know, Jesus and the Gospels using a short and simple story to kind of illustrate, you know, something immoral or spiritual question or something like that but i do think there is

sort of an illustration here or parable like illustration we have two men you know perhaps who have

the two largest megaphones in the world this is the u.s president and the leader of the world's

1.4 billion catholics pope leo and particular, sort of this president and this Pope,

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