Jess Hardiman
It seems like Pope Leo’s supposedly ‘menacing’ one-word remark about the United States may not be what it seems to be.
Leo made history when he became the first ever American pope, even breaking a major tradition by speaking English at his first mass on 9 May.
But while you’d think him chatting away in his native tongue would be about as patriotic as you could get, some people were left a little confused about his stance on his home country this week.
On Monday, Pope Leo was asked by NewsNation correspondent Robert Sherman if he had 'any message for the United States'.
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“Many," he replied bluntly, which sounded strangely ominous to some.
He then added: "God bless you all."
Many took his brief response as a sign he had a lot to say about America - and perhaps a thinly-veiled swipe at Donald Trump - with one commenting on Twitter: "This is the most menacing thing I've seen a pope say in my entire life."
Another agreed: “This wasn’t a message this was a warning disguised as a blessing and I’m shook.”
A third wrote: “Pope Leo really just dropped the coldest mic ever and left the world guessing.”
But others have taken a bit of time to analyse the footage further, and they think there’s a little more to it.
In fact, they don’t think he intended to be ‘menacing’ at all, having worked out an explanation that seems to make much more logical ‘sense’.
A number of social media users believe that Leo – while being ushered through a throng of press – simply misheard the question, and actually gave an answer to something completely different.
One suggested: “I might be wrong but I think he heard ‘any blessings for the United States.’ Which makes more sense.”
Posting their theory, someone else wrote: “The reporter actually said ‘any message FOR the United States’ but Pope Leo heard it as ‘any message FROM the United States?’ I don’t think he was trying to be profound, I think he just misheard a question from behind him.”
As much as it seems fun to see the new pope as the world’s new Regina George, it does seem hard to believe that he wanted to be quite so chaotic during such early stages of his papacy.
The jury's still out on what he may or may not have heard, but given that he was surrounded by flashing cameras and shouting reporters, it's certainly a likely theory.