Pope Leo decries leaders who invoke Jesus to ‘justify war’
What happened
Pope Leo XIV on Sunday began his first Holy Week as pope by criticizing leaders who invoke Jesus to “justify war.” Christians throughout the Middle East are “suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict,” including not being able to “live fully the rites of these holy days,” he said at a Palm Sunday Mass at the Vatican. Hours earlier, Israeli police had blocked the top Catholic leader in Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, from celebrating Mass at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, drawing widespread criticism from Western leaders and diplomats.
Who said what
“This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace,” the pope told tens of thousands gathered in St Peter’s Square. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.’” Pope Leo is “known for choosing his words carefully,” Reuters said, and while he did “not specifically name any world leaders,” he has been “ramping up criticism of the Iran war.”
“Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions,” but “especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,” The Associated Press said. The secretary’s “proselytizing Christian campaign” in the U.S. military has alarmed military, legal and religious experts, The Washington Post said, and the “war with Muslim-majority Iran has only made Hegseth’s approach more stark.” Last week at the Pentagon, Hegseth invoked the “mighty and powerful name of Jesus Christ” in a prayer to inflict “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”
What next?
The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement that Israel’s “manifestly unreasonable” and “fundamentally flawed decision” to block Pizzaballa from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre marked the “first time in centuries” that Catholic prelates were prevented from celebrating Palm Sunday at the site where Christians believe Jesus was crucified and buried before his Easter resurrection. Israeli authorities said all religious buildings in Jerusalem’s Old City, home to some of the most sacred Christian, Muslim and Jewish sites, have been closed amid Iranian missile threats, and Pizzaballa was turned back for his own safety.
But “as criticism poured in from close allies, top Israeli leaders went into damage-control mode,” The Times of Israel said. Sunday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had ordered the police to give Pizzaballa “full and immediate access” so he can “hold services as he wishes” during Christianity’s holiest week.