Pope Leo delivered a homily on Palm Sunday, March 29, to a crowd assembled below in St. Peter’s Square. It was on one of his favorite themes: the inadmissibility of war. He seems to think that war is never justified, that it never achieves anything good, and is to be avoided at all costs. This would have struck past popes as bizarre, for they knew the doctrine of just war has long been an accepted part of Catholic doctrine. More on Pope Leo’s Palm Sunday appearance can be found here: “How many missiles have fallen on the Pope’s children? – comment,” by Alex Winston, Jerusalem Post, March 29, 2026:
There is something both admirable in its intent and a profound detachment from reality in the words delivered on Sunday morning by Pope Leo in St. Peter’s Square. Admirable, because he speaks the language of peace with moral clarity. Detached, because he does so from a place where war is an abstraction, not a lived reality.
I beg to differ. I don’t think Pope Leo “speaks the language of peace with moral clarity.” He is confused, so confused that he refuses to make the elementary distinction between a just war and an unjust war.
“God rejects the prayers of those who wage war,” the pontiff said, addressing tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, the celebration that opens the holiest week of the year in the lead-up to Easter.
Does God do that? Do you think God rejected the prayers of Abraham Lincoln for victory in the war he waged in order not just to save the Union, but to end slavery? Did God reject the prayers of Americans, British, and those in Occupied Europe held under the Nazi jackboot, prayers not for “peace” with Hitler, but rather, “for a successful conclusion of what was surely the most justified war in history?
As the conflict with Iran entered its second month, this is a powerful line from the man who is spiritually responsible for 1.4 billion Catholics. It is also one that is received very differently in Rome than in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, or in the bomb shelters that have become a second home for millions of Israelis.
“[Jesus] 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 said, citing a Bible passage.
The Marines who raised the flag on Iwo Jima had hands that were full of blood; so were the hands of those who fought the Nazis in the French, the Dutch, the Italian, the Norwegian Resistances. For this Pope Leo would reject them. Is that “moral clarity”?
The pontiff did not specifically name any world leaders, but he has been ramping up criticism of the Iran war in recent weeks. The pope, who is known for choosing his words carefully, has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict.
An immediate ceasefire, ending both Operation Epic Fury and Operation Roaring Lion, which the Pope calls for, would constitute a victory for the Islamic Republic. That is the regime that has tormented and impoverished the people of Iran for 47 years, has hung homosexuals from cranes, has beaten to death women whose hijabs were improperly fastened, has given indispensable support to the terror groups Hezbollah and Hamas, has supplied weapons to Bashar Assad, has given refuge to members of Al Qaeda, including Saif el-Adel and members of Bin Laden’s family. Now there is a chance to destroy that terrible regime, but the pope insists that there be an “immediate ceasefire” that will take away that chance.
If the Pope had immediate experience of war, if Islamic terrorists backed by Iran were to detonate bombs inside St Peter’s, killing hundreds and destroying works of art, if Iran claimed responsibility for that attack and followed it by threatening to destroy “every Christian church in the Middle East, including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, unless Operation Epic Fury stops,” would the pope be quite so insistent that a “ceasefire” be immediately declared? Or would he think a bit more about the just war concept, and whether the war against Iran meets its criteria?
Wellington says
Julius II was a realist. Leo XIV is not a realist. Popes should be realists.
FolloweroftheWay says
No, Popes should follow Jesus Christ. Many didn’t consider Him a realist either. That’s okay.
gravenimage says
Christianity is not a suicide pact.
Greenbean says
You act as though you will live forever. The early Church followed what Jesus taught. That was what the New Testament recorded. St Stephen lived that love (agape) and acted accordingly. The early martyrs lived that also. Were the fools? Or, are you holding onto this life too firmly. I think Jesus was clear which our Father expects.
gravenimage says
No, I don’t act as though I will live forever–what gave you that idea?
The idea that Christianity demands that its followers *embrace evil* is quite mistaken. I don’t want to help Islam rob, rape, and murder innocent people.
Interesting that Greenbean here has never said *anything* critical of the horrors of Islam, and elsewhere sneered at the idea that Iran has ever done anything wrong. I suppose he is fine with their persecuting Christians, hanging gay people, “marrying” little girls, and stoning women to death.
somehistory says
Green bean, Jesus promised “eternal life,” “everlasting life” to those who put faith in Him, who “take in Knowledge of Him and of His Father.”
And He repeated the Psalm. “The meek will inherit the earth and will **live forever** upon it.”
It’s Christian to hold that hope close and believe in Jesus’ promises. People who don’t believe in those Words, or hope to receive the promises, can mock it, but they can’t stop it.
Greenbean says
gravenimage you are a bundle of logic errors. Find where I have advocated for any of those ideas. Please do not embrace evil, I don’t. I do follow the explicit teachings of Jesus. He commanded us to love our enemies and do good to those who do evil to us. That is what the Acts and other books of the NT show and teach. That is what Christians lived for three centuries. What you and Hugh advocate is opposed to what Jesus taught. Read my post below to get a fuller understanding of what Hugh wrote.
Greenbean says
I have a simple question for you gravenimage. The US attacked Iran while we were negotiating with Iran. That explicitly violates the Roman Catholic Just War tradition. We also bombed a girl’s school and then waited 40 minutes while the parents, many of whom were senior Iranian officials came to save their daughters. Then we bombed the school again. This is a clear war crime AND clearly against the RCJWT. Are you Catholic? If so, are you not bound to refuse to support this war? Hugh, where are you? What say you?
Greenbean says
Well, wouldn’t you know it. The Archbishop of the Military has declared the War on Iran to be unjust. Now what do you do Hugh et al? Will you slink away and wait for this one to blow over? Any courage over there?
GE says
I notice there was no mention of the Christians massacred in Nigeria on Palm Sunday.
Pope Urban 2 he ain’t.
somehistory says
GE, he doesn’t mention them because he doesn’t care. But then, you know that.
He learned from the previous creature that muzzies are the only ones who *deserve* care
He has learned nothing from Jesus Christ.
PR says
I`d believed that the papacy of the commie, muslim loving, Jew hating, Francis, was an aberration. But, choosing a successor, Leo, who shares the same evil beliefs as Francis, proves me wrong. The cardinals who voted for both, should be ex communicated.
Mary Lillie says
Or of the people killed in the Crusades.
gravenimage says
Grimly true.
Taffy says
We can’t completely fault the Pope because a homily is intended primarily for spiritual edification rather than doctrinal instruction. Yes war is hell, but it is sometimes very necessary!
Maybe the Pope should’ve read Hugo Grotius-On the Law of War and Peace (De Jure Belli ac Pacis). Some say that this established the framework for modern international law, but many of its concepts can be traced back 400 years before, to Maimonides in Kings and Their Wars, and before that to Talmudic times. The Bible, both Old and New Testaments has the basics on conducting a war. Luke’s Parable of the Minas has been interpreted as justification for a preemptive war. Grotius’s work puts everything in one place, and that is what he is famous for.
Grotius’s thesis is that war is regrettable, but often a necessity. He states that natural law should govern the conduct of war, including when to initiate an attack or defense. Reason and justice, according to Grotius, are elements that govern the conduct of war. Grotius speaks of just wars and unjust wars. Defensive unprovoked wars are always just, and a preemptive war is just, if the enemy is amassing an offense. He also speaks about the need to protect non-combatants, where feasible, and he speaks of proper treatment of POWs. Grotius’s work is timeless.
The thing that bothers me about the Pope’s position is his omission of the war in The Sudan, wars in Nigeria, and Muslims’ jihad provocations, among others. Jihad will surely lead to justified preemptive defensive skirmishes and justified war.
Islam is a depraved ideology, and the sooner the Pope speaks to its evils the sooner this Islam scourge will be reined in.
somehistory says
As usual, he uses the Bible as satan the devil did when trying to tempt Jesus into sin.
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Amos, Micah, Proverbs and Psalms all tell the same thing: That God does not listen to prayers when the ones praying are going against His commandments and committing evil acts.
Jesus warned that just before He returns, “there will be wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not terrified.”
The Bible also says that Joshua, Gideon, and David prayed before going to war against their enemies; enemies God told them to remove from the Land. The enemies did not go peacefully. Being removed meant war.
Whether God heard Lincoln, we cannot know as the Bible doesn’t record his prayer nor a Divine answer.
But, the pope, as usual, is providing his own ideas and it probably has to do with his view of muzzies.
KK says
Obviously the pope forgot about the prayers of those in the crusades also. The enemy has been at war with man since the garden of eden. Does he actually think his words amount to anything with an enemy who lies, steals and destroys? Take him out of his safety zone into the real world and maybe he will have a paradigm shift.
Troybeam says
The Catholic Pope: the times are changing so is the Pope, none of the changes are good just the opposite.
Where people look for hope, prayers and word of God/Jesus to be spoken are silent for the last Pope and this Pope center on politics rather than the teachings of the Bible.
somehistory says
OT….but it looks like the pope and cair are both on the same page
“Muslim group rips Slotkin over Bill Maher TV spot. Senator condemns hate”
“The first-term Michigan senator from Holly was the primary guest on HBO’s “Real Time with Bill Maher” on Friday, where she sat for a one-on-one interview and a panel discussion.
Slotkin discussed — among other topics — her years-old decision not to accept money from a pro-Israel political action group, her concern over the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and her bipartisan proposal to ban insider trading by government officials on prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, did not criticize Slotkin’s remarks on the program but rather her decision to accept the invitation at all. The complaint pointed out past statements by Maher that CAIR labeled as Islamophobic, and it came at a moment of heightened religious tension in Michigan following the Temple Israel synagogue attack in West Bloomfield Township.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/muslim-group-rips-slotkin-over-bill-maher-tv-spot-senator-condemns-hate/ar-AA1ZR0BP
James Lincoln says
I’m having a hard time trying to figure out which Pope was worse: Francis or Leo?
Rufolino says
Francis made determined attempts to be friends with Islam.
At least Leo hasn’t embarked on the same path (yet).
gravenimage says
Are you sure, Rufolino?
“Pope denounces ‘fear’ of Islam, says ‘it is possible to live together, to be friends’”
https://jihadwatch.org/2025/12/pope-denounces-fear-of-islam-says-it-is-possible-to-live-together-to-be-friends
WPM says
One has the communist leaning from Argentina ,one has the communist leaning of Chicago ,both are weak and appeasing to Islam. Neither has the courage to declare that Islam is at war on Christianity murdering Christians in Africa, the Balkans ,Asia and slowly enslaving Christians in Europe ,the Americas thru lawfare and jihad .Appeasing a bully only encourages a bully to get bolder and bolder. If you are a leader in hard times when all your followers face extinction from a common enemy you have to pick a side and form allies with of enemies of this threat . Islam is a threat to all Christians, Jews ,Hindus ,Buddhist ,atheist ,capitalist , and anyone else who does not want to live under a Islamic feudal system .The present day communist or want to be communist in the west have side up with Islam to destroy western style civilization at this moment in history. Most present day leaders of western Europe are appeasing Islam to temporary hold on to power ,like the democratic party in America.
James Lincoln says
Thank you for your replies Rufolino, and WPM.
Winston 101 says
Now I understand why the Catholic Church has gone through periods of having more than one claimant to the papacy.
No mention of the constant Islamic slaughter of members of his Church in Africa! How low can you get!
Even as a nonreligious, I know more about the doctrine of his church than this liar will put forth.
This duplicitous man, who surely knows the Catholic doctrine of “Just War” is on his balcony telling bold faced lies for the world to see.
If you are ever attacked, he will come to your aid by saying “Now children of God – be nice.” “Violence is never the answer”. All the while his Swiss Guards are standing at the ready to protect him with what? Smarmy admonitions to not be violent?
If violence is never justified – what are those Swiss Guards for?
Small children know the difference between aggressive violence and defensive violence.
He is abdicating his duty, as Pope, to lead Catholics to the correct position on “Just War” – not the Leftist “nice” pacifist position that guarantees you lose the battle.
If you have ever read “the Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis, you will recognize this Pope’s voice.
The Devil is a liar and he’s guaranteed to lead you to wrong conclusions – in the “nicest” voice possible.
OLD GUY says
It’s easy to say wars are bad when you don’t live and are totally protected by security and not living first hand with the violence and murder of your friends and family by in this case Islam. The overthrow of evil should be seen as a necessity for survival of christianity.
Greenbean says
Hi Hugh, thank you for writing this short article. I understand your arguments because I made them for decades. If I may, here is an alternative to your position.
The Just War tradition is not a doctrine, but simply a tradition. There are not documents establishing it as a doctrine and if you disagree, please provide them. The Catechism’s use of “doctrine” is incorrect if that is your source. The CCC is not a dogmatic document although there are dogmas described in it. This described well in the USCCB pastoral letter, section B., Harvest of Justice is Sown in Peace by the USCCB https://www.usccb.org/resources/harvest-justice-sown-peace.
There are two traditions in the Roman Catholic faith. The original and the only tradition for the first 3 centuries was nonviolent love of friends and enemies. There are no examples of justified violence in those centuries – nothing written or recorded in history. It was not until the late 4th century that Sts Ambrose and Augustine introduced the idea of justified violence and then only at the behest of a political leader. Personal self defense was not licit for another century and a half. Augustine was clear that in personal self defense, a Christian must still follow the Sermon on the Mount. So, for longer than the USA has been a country, Christians chose martyrdom over any kind of violence. That’s why you have so many in those centuries. I recommend Ronald Musto’s, The Catholic Peace Tradition for more details.
The second tradition, the Just War (JWT), is the only other option for a Catholic as regards to violence. The JWT has very strict requirements before a Catholic may choose to respond with violence. All of the many conditions before and after the war is initiated must be met to the level of probabiliorism. Probabiliorism is the highest level of moral certainty that the Church requires. This is described in the CCC as “2309 The strict conditions for legitimate defense by military force require rigorous consideration. The gravity of such a decision makes it subject to rigorous conditions of moral legitimacy. At one and the same time”. All of the requirements of the JWT must be met to this level of moral certainty or a Catholic may not support that war. Perhaps if you actually applied the Catholic JWT, you might find your position less certain. Don’t feel too bad, the German bishops failed to apply the JWT in WWII as have all bishops over the centuries. Never have the bishops from a country told their flocks that their leader’s war was unjust. They always seem to be silent or conclude that the war is just. Only one bishop I can find actually states to his flock when a war is unjust: VR John Michael Boteen of the Romanian Catholic Church. His letter on Iraq and Iran are quite interesting.
“Now, if we pass from the behavior of the Church to Catholic doctrinal positions regarding the problem of war, it becomes clear that theology has sustained the theory of the “just war” for many centuries—a theory which however, never became official, which never was blessed by the magisterium of the Church.”
–La Civiltá Cattolica, 1991, the only journal to be directly revised by the Secretariat of State of the Holy See and to receive its approval before being published
You mention assertions of evil that Iran has perpetrated. Perhaps so or perhaps these are more propaganda than fact. Your claim the against Assad are thin and hardly supported by fact. Yet, we can know the the USA and Israel openly supported Al Qaeda and ISIS in Syria to overthrow Assad’s government. The new leader of Syria is Abu Mohammad al-Jolani… The USA openly supported the most viscous Islamic groups to overthrow Qaddafi. Where are you on prosecuting a “Just War” against such heinous actions?
gravenimage says
Pope Leo on Palm Sunday
……………………………….
This does not lead to peace–it leads (if followed) to good people doing nothing to stand against evil.
I guess Leo wishes that good people never took a brave stand against Fascism 80 years ago.
Tim gallagher says
Evil, murderously violent Muslims must be overjoyed at such clueless people as this pope. Muslims would love it if most people were pacifists like pope. Muslims would treat such people mercilessly, just as they treat all non Muslims being a pacifist when dealing with Muslims is insane.
Jonny Boy says
Guys Rome was constantly fighting defensive wars against the caliphate
The popes house is literally built on this massive fortitude of a building surrounded by huge walls to keep the invaders out