Pope Leo XIV on Friday offered a new criticism of war, in a social media post that named no names but appeared to hint at the Trump administration leadership harnessing Christian nationalism to glorify the US and Israel’s war against Iran.
“God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs,” Leo wrote on his official X account. “Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.”
The pope, who was born in Chicago and is the first American to lead the Catholic church, has consistently spoken out against the fighting in the Middle East since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran in February.
Leo’s post on Friday appeared to be an oblique response to the Trump administration’s repeated references to God while conducting Operation Epic Fury in Iran.
The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has especially portrayed the conflict in religious terms, describing it as a holy war carried out “in the name of Jesus Christ”.
Who we killing in the name of again? Come on, Zack de la Rocha, help me out here…
Has he ever read a bible? God delivered all kinds of enemies into the hands of people in the bible. That guy has no idea what he’s talking about.
I think I’ll have to trust the Pope on this one, unless you have some comparable credentials?
You have to consider who was writing and what their deal was.
There’s a lot of “and then God told us to do some genocide so we did” along with limited historical support for more than skirmishes.
The later message was much more consistent, as Jesus only got violent with people who used God as a pretext to be selfish (i.e. evil) and definitely knew better.
Over the years, I’ve come to determine that the main difference between Catholicism and evangelical movements is the former focuses on the New Testament, whereas the latter focuses on the Torah with a little Jesus sprinkled on top.
I’m going to guess the pope has read the bible a few times. I’m an atheist, so I have no horse in this race, but I don’t see his entreaty here as being counter to Jesus’ teachings.
