Pope Leo Doubles Down on Call for Iran Ceasefire; Attacks Christians Who Go War in the Name of God

March 16—Pope Leo XIV doubled down yesterday on his call for a ceasefire to end the war in Iran, saying that killing going on was " atrocious." During is noon Angelus prayer yesterday at St. Peter's Square, he called for a ceasefire among “those responsible” and pleaded with them to reopen dialogue to end the violence. 

“On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all women and men of goodwill, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict,” the Pope said. “Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened. Violence can never lead to the justice, stability, and peace that the people are waiting for.”

Leo did not mention the United States or Israel by name, but he did reference the attack on a children's school in Iran, which was done by an American missile, which killed 175 people, most of whom were young girls. “Thousands of innocent people have been killed, and many others have been forced to abandon their homes. I renew my prayerful closeness to all those who have lost their loved ones in the attacks that have struck schools, hospitals, and residential areas,” Pope Leo said.

The Pope also lashed out Christians who invoke religion to justify the killing in war. Speaking yesterday at a parish in Rome, Leo, the first American pope, said that the idea that war resolves problems is "absurd." In an obvious reference to the Christian fundamentalists who have backed the war as an essential fight against the force of evil, the Pope stated: “Some even go so far as to invoke the name of God to justify these choices of death, but God cannot be enlisted by darkness.”

A source who was familiar with Leo when he was a young man and later as Father Robert Francis Prevost as a priest in Chicago, said that he was angered and saddened by Chrisitan evangelical preachers, like the Rev. Billy Graham, who claimed that that "God was on our side" when America fought the "evil" of communism and claimed divine support for the Vietnam War. The source said Leo shared the message of Bob Dylan's famous song on the subject "With God on Our Side."

War Is Not a Video Game

This morning, the Pope urged journalists to highlight the suffering caused by war, and avoid becoming propagandists for war, serving as a "megaphone" for those in power. In a meeting with broadcasters from Italy's TG2 television ​news program, the pope made a direct appeal ​for reporters "to show the face of war and tell ⁠it through the eyes of the victims, so as ​not to turn it into a video game."

Leo's ​warning against depicting war like a video game ​echoed ⁠remark from a senior United States church official earlier this month. Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich sharply rebuked the White House for posting a ⁠video ​on social media featuring footage from ​the Iran war, spliced with scenes from video games and action films. Cupich ​called the video "sickening."