VATICAN CITY, April 11 – During a special prayer ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, Pope Leo delivered a passionate plea for global peace, condemning what he described as the “madness of war” while high-ranking American and Iranian representatives conducted diplomatic meetings in Pakistan to address their ongoing six-week military confrontation.
The pontiff, who holds the distinction of being America’s first pope, criticized the practice of using religious rhetoric to support military actions and warned that a “delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us … is becoming increasingly unpredictable.”
In his direct message to international leaders, Leo declared: “Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned.”
The pope, recognized for his deliberate choice of language, has become a vocal opponent of the Iranian conflict. During Saturday’s service, he employed strong rhetoric to condemn warfare, referencing correspondence from children living in conflict areas that he said depicted “horror and inhumanity.”
Leo also recalled the Catholic Church’s stance against the 2003 American-led invasion of Iraq, mentioning a plea made by the late Pope John Paul II just four days prior to that conflict’s beginning.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money!” the pope proclaimed. “Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!”
The pontiff, who previously stated on March 30 that God refuses the prayers of leaders who initiate wars and possess “hands full of blood,” again criticized the incorporation of Christian rhetoric to support military action on Saturday.
“The balance within the human family has been severely destabilized,” Leo stated. “Even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.”
Conservative Catholic observers have suggested the pope’s previous statements targeted U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has employed Christian terminology to defend the combined American-Israeli military strikes against Iran that began the current war.
The special prayer gathering was first announced by Leo during his Easter address the previous Sunday.
