Pope Leo warns God rejects prayers of leaders who wage war

Standing before tens of thousands of faithful in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV issued what the Times of Israel described as "unusually forceful" Palm Sunday remarks, declaring that God refuses to hear the prayers of leaders who wage war because their "hands are full of blood."

The pontiff built his homily around the image of Christ entering Jerusalem on a donkey, not a war horse, fulfilling the prophecy of a king who would "command peace to the nations," not one who would marshal armies in God's name. That contrast between meekness and violence formed the moral spine of his argument.

"Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war," Leo said. "He 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.'"

The condemnation was sweeping. Leo told the crowd that Christ "did not arm himself, or defend himself, or fight any war" but instead "revealed the gentle face of God, who always rejects violence." The choice Jesus made, Leo said, was the cross rather than self-preservation: "Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross, embracing every cross borne in every time and place throughout human history."

The homily landed against a backdrop of active conflict. Spectrum News noted that the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran was entering its second month and that Russia's campaign in Ukraine continued unabated, and that leaders on multiple sides had reached for religious justification. Spectrum reported that U.S. officials, particularly Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have "invoked their Christian faith to cast the war as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes with military might."

Leo directed particular prayers toward those bearing the immediate costs. "Their trials appeal to the conscience of all," he said, praying especially for Christians in the Middle East. "Let us raise our prayers to the Prince of Peace so that he may support people wounded by war and open concrete paths of reconciliation and peace."

Several outlets read the homily as a pointed rebuke to U.S. political leadership. The Guardian framed the remarks as seeming to rebuke Donald Trump. Mother Jones characterized the sermon as a rebuke of Hegseth specifically, and The Daily Beast called it a "holy warning to Trump." The pope named no individual in his reported remarks.

The Mass opened Holy Week with the traditional procession of cardinals, bishops, priests, and thousands of the faithful carrying palms and olive branches through St. Peter's Square. For many at the Vatican, the week carries particular weight: it marks the first Holy Week since the death of Pope Francis, who died on Easter Monday, a loss the start of this liturgical season brought freshly to mind.