Pope Leo Targets War Leaders, Says God Rejects Their Prayers Despite Public Displays of Faith

Pope Leo XIV used Palm Sunday Mass on March 29 to deliver some of his most forceful remarks yet on the subject of war. Speaking before tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, he declared that Jesus cannot be invoked to justify armed conflict and that God turns away the prayers of those who wage war. His address came as the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entered its second month.

Leo Said Jesus Rejects War and Cannot Be Used to Justify It

The pope built his argument around the figure of Jesus as the “King of Peace,” a phrase he returned to several times throughout the homily. “Jesus is the King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Leo said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

Leo Turned to Isaiah to Argue That Violence Makes Prayer Futile

Drawing from the Old Testament, Leo quoted the Book of Isaiah: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.” The verse, Isaiah 1:15, followed his description of a God who “always rejects violence.” He paired it with an image of Christ during the Passion, calling Jesus one who “did not arm himself, or defend himself, or fight any war.”

When a Disciple Drew His Sword, Jesus Told Him to Put It Away

Leo recalled the moment in the Gospels when a disciple drew a sword and struck the servant of the high priest as Jesus was being arrested. Jesus told him to put the sword away, saying: “All who take the sword will perish by the sword.” The moment fit within Leo’s larger argument that Jesus, throughout his Passion, refused to meet violence with violence.

Leo Has Repeatedly Called for a Ceasefire in the Iran Conflict

Leo, history’s first U.S.-born pope, has been sharpening his public stance on the Iran war in recent weeks, according to Reuters, which noted he is known for choosing his words carefully. He had previously called for an immediate ceasefire and stated that military airstrikes are indiscriminate and should be banned. He did not name any specific world leaders on Sunday, though his remarks arrived against a backdrop of leaders on multiple sides invoking religion to sanction military action.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Has Led Christian Prayer Services at the Pentagon

Among the officials who have used religious framing around the Iran conflict is U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. He has started leading Christian prayer services at the Pentagon and, days before Leo’s homily, prayed at one such service for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy,” according to Reuters. Other U.S. officials have invoked Christian language to justify the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran that began on February 28.

Russia’s Orthodox Church Has Described the Ukraine Invasion as a Holy War

The use of religious language to justify war extends beyond the Iran conflict. Russia’s Orthodox Church has framed the invasion of Ukraine as a “holy war” against a Western world it views as morally and spiritually corrupt, according to the Associated Press. Leo did not name specific conflicts, grounding his argument in scripture, applying to any conflict where religion is used to sanction violence.

Leo Prayed for Middle East Christians Who May Not Be Able to Celebrate Easter

At the close of Mass, Leo offered a special blessing for Christians in the Middle East, saying they are “suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict” and, in many cases, cannot fully observe the rites of Holy Week. The same day, the Latin Patriarchate reported that Jerusalem police prevented the Catholic church’s top leadership from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which the Patriarchate said was the first such incident in centuries.

Leo Closed With a Prayer Asking That War’s Suffering Come to an End

Leo concluded his homily by quoting Servant of God Bishop Tonino Bello, entrusting his appeal to the Virgin Mary. The prayer asked that “the flashes of war are fading into the twilight” and that “the tears of all the victims of violence and pain will soon be dried up like frost beneath the spring sun.” He urged the faithful to pray for the opening of “concrete paths of reconciliation and peace.”

Leo Leads a Full Holy Week Schedule Through Easter Sunday

Leo is presiding over a full series of liturgical observances through Easter. On Good Friday, he will lead the traditional Passion procession at Rome’s Colosseum. For Holy Thursday, he is returning the foot-washing ceremony to the Basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes observed the rite for decades before Pope Francis moved it to prisons and refugee centers. Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square will conclude with a blessing from the basilica’s loggia.