Tag: Pope Leo XIV

Pope Leo, global church bodies, speak out against Iran war

Holy Week liturgical texts this year in Rome became occasions for Pope Leo XIV to speak out against wars around the world, and especially in Iran. Less than a year after beginning his papacy with words of peace affirming explicitly that “the peace of the risen Christ” is a “disarmed and disarming peace,” Leo has been remarkably blunt.

Vatican diplomacy requires understatement, and Leo’s Palm Sunday homily did not name world leaders by name. But the pope’s message was unmistakable. Reflecting on Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem as the King of Peace who rejected violence, and citing Isaiah 1:15, Leo pointedly declared that Jesus “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”

At a time when US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is conducting regular prayer meetings in the Pentagon praying for military victory in Jesus name, commentators have underscored the contrast (see here and here). On Holy Thursday, Leo furthered his unmistakable message by lamenting Christians’ historical support for colonialist violence. Through the cross, he preached, “The imperialist occupation of the world is thus disrupted from within.”

Meanwhile, Mennonite World Conference has joined with numerous global church bodies in condemning US and Israeli attacks on Iran as “clearly illegal under international law.”

“Having taken this path, Israel and the United States of America must not be permitted to once again create a desolation and call it peace. … We appeal for an immediate ceasefire, for the urgent resumption of diplomatic engagement and political dialogue through established international and regional mechanisms, and for full compliance by all States with their obligations under international law, including the UN Charter.”