As American and Israeli forces intensify their military assaults on Iranian targets and U.S. President Donald Trump issues a 48-hour ultimatum threatening destruction over the Strait of Hormuz, the Vatican is pushing back.
Pope Leo XIV used his first Easter Sunday address to deliver a commanding directive to global leaders demanding an immediate end to the escalating conflict.
Speaking to the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide on Sunday, the 70-year-old Chicago-born pontiff forcefully condemned the idolatry of profit and the violence of war. The address signals a stark theological rejection of the current U.S. administration’s framing of the Middle East crisis.
“Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!” Leo said during the Sunday blessing at the Vatican.
The Pope emphasized that peace must be achieved through encounter and dialogue rather than imposed by force, according to a detailed report published on Sunday. He did not explicitly name the United States or Israel in his remarks. The timing of the address aligns directly with the recent rescue of a downed U.S. pilot from deep inside Iranian territory and the ongoing bombardment campaign.
Displaying a more traditional style than his predecessor Pope Francis, Leo sang verses during the Mass. He delivered his Easter greetings in 10 languages, including Arabic, Latin, and Chinese. He also announced an upcoming Saturday vigil to pray for global peace.
The pontiff set the tone for this message earlier in Holy Week. He became the first pope since John Paul II to physically carry the cross through all 14 Stations of the Cross during the traditional Good Friday rite at Rome’s Colosseum.
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The Vatican is actively countering narratives that attempt to harness religion to justify military might. Senior Vatican officials are designing Pope Leo’s messaging to undermine the historical logic that nations use to claim divine alignment in war.
Vatican officials are explicitly differentiating between permissible prayers for defense, such as Ukrainian soldiers repelling a foreign invasion, and the unacceptable invocation of divine support while launching unprovoked missile strikes against another nation.
This forceful anti-war stance immediately drew public rebuke from American conservative commentators. The pushback highlights a growing rift between the Vatican’s peace directives and the political base supporting the U.S. military escalation.
Pundit Allie Beth Stuckey criticized the pontiff’s statements on X. “To say that God is against war per se is flat out false,” Stuckey wrote. Commentator Buzz Patterson also dismissed the Pope’s messaging on the platform, stating it “isn’t Biblical.”