During Palm Sunday Mass marking the start of Holy Week, Pope Leo XIV delivered a pointed rebuke of war, telling the faithful that God “rejects the prayers” of leaders who wage violence as the conflict with Iran intensifies.
Speaking at the Vatican to a massive crowd carrying traditional palm branches in St. Peter’s Square, the pope framed his 10-minute homily around Jesus as a “King of Peace,” adding that faith cannot be used to justify war or political power. “God does not accept the prayers of those who choose violence,” he said, in one of the clearest moral condemnations of the conflict from a global religious leader.
(NOTE: The homily begins about 1:00:18.)
The message echoes a stark biblical warning. In Isaiah 1:15, God rejects the prayers of those who commit violence: “When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you. Even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!”
The timing amplified the pope’s remarks. Holy Week, one of the most sacred periods in the Christian calendar, centers on themes of sacrifice, suffering and redemption — making the address a direct moral intervention at a moment of global tension.
His comments come as the war involving Iran continues to escalate, raising fears of a broader regional conflict and drawing political responses from leaders in the United States and beyond. In recent days, some officials and commentators have framed the conflict in religious or civilizational terms, a characterization the pope’s remarks implicitly challenged.
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The address also arrives amid growing public backlash to the war, including large-scale “No Kings” protests across the United States and internationally, where demonstrators have cited both foreign policy and domestic political concerns.
While the Vatican has long called for peace in global conflicts and previously condemned using faith to justify certain policies of this administration, the tone of Sunday’s message stood out for its sharp clarity: a rejection not just of war itself, but of the idea that faith can be used to sanctify it.
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