Pope Leo has stated God ignores the prayers of leaders who wage conflict and have “hands full of blood”, in an obvious rebuke to the Trump administration.
The pontiff made the feedback on Sunday as hundreds of US troops arrived in the Middle East and days after the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, prayed for violence against enemies who deserved “no mercy”.
During a Palm Sunday mass in St Peter’s Square, the pope stated the battle between Iran, Israel and the US was “atrocious” and that Jesus couldn’t be used to justify conflict.
“This is our God: Jesus, king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” he instructed tens of hundreds of worshippers. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
Quoting a Bible passage, Leo added: “‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.’”
The Catholic church’s first US pontiff didn’t title any authorities or particular person, however the unusually pointed remarks adopted Hegseth’s prayer for violence on Wednesday and the buildup of US floor forces close to Iran.
The pope cited a Bible passage in which Jesus upbraided a disciple who used a sword to attempt to repel troopers who got here to arrest him. Jesus didn’t arm himself or struggle, the pope stated. “He revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence. Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross.”
The plea for peace got here because the Pentagon ready for weeks of floor operations, in accordance to US officers who briefed the Washington Post. The Iranian parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, stated his nation’s forces had been ready for US troops to “set them on fire”.
Leaders on all sides of the battle have used faith to attempt to justify their actions. Hegseth’s insertion of his Christian religion into the Pentagon’s actions has drawn specific consideration and controversy.
Last week at a Christian worship service for navy and civilian employees in Washington, Hegseth stated: “Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation. Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”
The defence secretary is a member of a church affiliated with the Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches, whose founder self-identifies as a Christian nationalist.
The pope has repeatedly known as for a ceasefire and a ban on airstrikes in a battle that has rained destruction on Lebanon, Israel and Gulf states. In his homily on Sunday, the pope lamented that Christians in the area is probably not ready to have fun Easter.
For Christians, Palm Sunday is the beginning of a holy week that marks Christ’s arrival in Jerusalem days earlier than his crucifixion and resurrection.
On Sunday morning, Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, an archbishop with Catholic jurisdiction throughout Israel and the Palestinian territories, from coming into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem to conduct mass.
The US, France and Italy criticised the choice. The US ambassador Mike Huckabee, a religious evangelical Christian, stated the incident was “an unfortunate overreach”. Italy’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, stated it was “an offence not only to the faithful but to any community that respects religious freedom”, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, stated “the free exercise of worship in Jerusalem must be guaranteed for all religions”.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated there had been no “malicious intent” and the cardinal was prevented from accessing the church as a result of of security considerations. But he later introduced that though he understood “this concern”, he had instructed the related authorities that Pizzaballa “be granted full and immediate access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem”.
