Pope Leo XIV rejects claims that God justifies war in Palm Sunday Mass message
Pope Leo XIV caresses a child after presiding over Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican on the Catholic feast of Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, Sunday, March 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV said Sunday that God doesn't listen to the prayers of those who make war or cite God to justify their violence, as he prayed especially for Christians in the Middle East during a Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter’s Square.
With the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran entering its second month and Russia’s ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo dedicated his Palm Sunday homily to his insistence that God is the “king of peace” who rejects violence.
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