Pope Leo Says God Rejects Prayers of Leaders Who Wage War in Strong Palm Sunday Message
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\nPope Leo XIV delivered a forceful appeal for peace on March 29, Palm Sunday, saying that God rejects the prayers of leaders who wage war and have \u201chands full of blood,\u201d in remarks widely seen as a condemnation of the ongoing conflict involving Iran and United States and Israel.<\/p>\n
Speaking to tens of thousands of worshippers at St. Peter\u2019s Square, the pontiff emphasized that Jesus is the \u201cKing of Peace\u201d and cannot be used to justify war, quoting scripture to underline his message that God \u201cdoes not listen\u201d to prayers from those who wage violence.<\/p>\n
Leo did not name specific political figures, but his remarks sharply contrasted with comments by some officials who have invoked Christian language to support military operations, including a Pentagon prayer service led by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The Pope also prayed especially for Christians and other civilians in the Middle East who are suffering the consequences of the conflict, noting that many may be unable to fully observe the Easter season because of violence.<\/p>\n
The message came as the week before Easter\u2014a central period in the Christian calendar\u2014highlighting the Vatican\u2019s call for ceasefires and a renewed commitment to peace and reconciliation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pope Leo Says God Rejects Prayers of Leaders Who Wage War in Strong Palm Sunday Message ———————————– Pope Leo XIV delivered a forceful appeal for peace on March 29, Palm Sunday, saying that God rejects the prayers of leaders who wage war and have \u201chands full of blood,\u201d in remarks widely seen as a condemnation …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":141212,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marjaeyat"],"yoast_head":"\n