Pope Leo XIV waves as he rides previous folks holding branches after Palm Sunday Mass in Saint Peter’s Sq. on the Vatican, March 29, 2026.
| Picture Credit score: Reuters
Pope Leo stated on Sunday (March 29, 2026) that God rejects the prayers of leaders who begin wars and have “fingers stuffed with blood”, in unusually forceful remarks because the Iran warfare entered its second month.
Addressing tens of 1000’s in St. Peter’s Sq. on Palm Sunday, the celebration that opens the holy week main as much as Easter for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, the pontiff known as the battle “atrocious” and stated Jesus can’t be used to justify any wars.
Iran-Israel warfare updates on March 29, 2026
“That is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects warfare, whom nobody can use to justify warfare,” Leo, the primary U.S. pope, instructed crowds in good sunshine.
“[Jesus] doesn’t take heed to the prayers of those that wage warfare, however rejects them, saying: ‘Despite the fact that you make many prayers, I can’t hear: your fingers are stuffed with blood’,” he stated, citing a Bible passage.
Pope Leo didn’t particularly title any world leaders, however he has been ramping up criticism of the Iran warfare in current weeks.
Throughout an enchantment on the finish of Sunday’s celebration, the pope lamented that Christians within the Center East “are struggling the implications of an atrocious battle” and will not be capable of have fun Easter.
The pope, who is understood for selecting his phrases rigorously, has repeatedly known as for an instantaneous ceasefire within the battle and stated on Monday (March 23, 2026) that army airstrikes are indiscriminate and needs to be banned.
Some U.S. officers have invoked Christian language to justify the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28 that initiated the increasing warfare.
U.S. Protection Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has began main Christian prayer providers on the Pentagon, prayed at a service on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) for “overwhelming violence of motion towards those that deserve no mercy”.
In his homily on Sunday (March 29, 2026), Pope Leo referenced a Bible passage through which Jesus, about to be arrested forward of his crucifixion, rebuked considered one of his followers for hanging the individual arresting him with a sword.
“[Jesus] didn’t arm himself, or defend himself, or struggle any warfare,” Leo stated. “He revealed the mild face of God, who all the time rejects violence. Somewhat than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross.”
Revealed – March 29, 2026 10:39 pm IST