Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has heaped praise on Pope Francis, hours after the pontiff questioned his Christian faith.
The Pope had said Mr Trump's proposal to build a wall on the US border with Mexico was not Christian, provoking a strong response from the businessman.
But hours later, at a town hall event in South Carolina, the billionaire hotel developer was more conciliatory.
Republican voters in the US state will make their presidential choice in days.
Mr Trump leads the South Carolina polls and he took to a stage in Columbia on Thursday evening to answer questions on national television.
When asked about his row with the Pope, he said he wouldn't describe it as a fight, although he later said he didn't like fighting with him.
Analysis - Jon Sopel, North America editor
Did Mr Trump need to take on the Pope? Well, almost certainly yes.
Because in God-fearing South Carolina, the next state to vote in the primary process - to have the Pope say that he is un-Christian is potentially very damaging.
And over the course of the campaign, the billionaire property developer has been at pains to prove his religious credentials, appearing at rallies with a copy of the Bible that his mother had given him as a child.
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