Pope amplifies criticism of Iran war and says ‘God does not bless any conflict’
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV strengthened his condemnation of the US-Israeli war with Iran on Friday, saying that “God does not bless any conflict” and certainly doesn’t side with those who drop bombs.
Leo spoke at a meeting of senior bishops of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Iraq, an Eastern Rite Catholic church, whose clergy were in Rome to elect a new patriarch.
Leo said these were signs of hope “in a world marked by senseless and inhumane violence”, especially in the lands of early Christianity “where people’s lives were disregarded, sanctified by the blasphemy of war and the brutality of business”.
He told them that no justification could justify the shedding of innocent blood and encouraged them to “publicly declare that God favors no conflict; to cry out to the world that the disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, never stands on the side of those who wield swords yesterday and throw bombs today.”
The Vatican posted this quote on Leo’s official @Pontifex account in X to make sure the message gets its point across.
Special vigil for peace on Saturday
Leaders used religion to justify their actions in war. US officials and especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth They appealed to Christian beliefs to justify the conflict, portraying the United States as a Christian nation trying to defeat its enemies.
After making quiet calls for peace and dialogue in the first weeks of the conflict, Leo stepped up his criticism of the Trump administration from Palm Sunday, saying “Oh my God.” He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.
This week, he said President Donald Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization was serious. “really unacceptable” and called for dialogue to prevail.
The Vatican is particularly concerned about Israel’s war against Hezbollah spreading to Türkiye. LebanonConsidering the situation of Christian communities in the south.
Leo will preside over a special vigil prayer for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday. The vigil was held ahead of the announcement of high-level talks between the United States and Iran, which are expected to begin in Pakistan on Saturday.
Despite the pope’s increasingly critical tone, both the Vatican and the US government appeared willing to quash suggestions Friday that relations were fraying. Those suggestions were sparked this week by a report about an allegedly contentious meeting in January between the Pentagon and the Vatican’s outgoing ambassador to Washington, Cardinal Christophe Pierre.
The meeting on January 22 took place long before the war, but after Chicago-born Leo issued a proclamation. strong but veiled criticism US military intervention in a major foreign policy speech to diplomats accredited to the Vatican.
On Friday, the Vatican, in a rare official comment on a media report, said Pierre’s participation in the Pentagon meeting “was part of his ordinary duties and provided an opportunity to exchange views on matters of mutual interest.” In the statement, it was stated that the claim that the meeting was harsh was “in no way true.”
The US Embassy in the Vatican immediately thanked the Vatican for this statement.
Spiritual renewal of Chaldeans after scandal
The Chaldean Catholic Church represents more than one million Aramaic-speaking Christians, mostly from Iraq. Senior clergy are choosing a patriarch to replace 76-year-old Iraqi Cardinal Louis Sako, who has led the church since 2013.
Leo announced Sako’s retirement on March 11, and on the same day accepted the resignation of Bishop Emanuel Shaleta, a Chaldean bishop living in the United States. There was Shaleta did not admit his guilt The day before, he had been indicted on 16 felony counts for allegedly embezzling $270,000 from a California congregation.
In his comments to the Chaldean bishops on Friday, Leo made several references to the difficulties they have faced in recent years.
He thanked Sako” important contributions but now it is said to be a time of “spiritual renewal” with newfound devotion to faith, preservation of tradition, and observance of obedience and chastity.
“I advise you to be careful and transparent in the management of property, to be sober, measured and responsible in the use of mass media, and to be prudent in public statements, so that every word and action contributes to the building – not to harm – of religious unity and the testimony of the church,” he said.
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