Pope condemns those who invoke God to justify war amid US-Israeli war on Iran

Pope Leo XIV has issued a condemnation of those who invoke religion to justify warfare, in remarks widely interpreted as a critique of Donald Trump’s peace-through-strength policy and the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran that has killed thousands of civilians.

Speaking during a pastoral visit to a Rome suburb on Sunday, the 70-year-old pontiff denounced what he described as "the absurd claim that problems and differences can be resolved through war".

"Some claim to involve the name of God in these deadly decisions, but God cannot be enlisted by darkness," Pope Leo declared. "It is peace that those who invoke him must seek".

The Pope's words carry particular resonance given the long history of American officials using religious language to justify military interventions.

Republican administrations have repeatedly employed such rhetoric, most infamously when President George W. Bush claimed in the early 2000s that Christ had inspired him to attack Iraq.

This tradition of invoking divine authority extends to the current administration.

President Donald Trump and his team have similarly framed their military actions in quasi-religious terms, with Trump casting conflicts as battles between "God-fearing patriots" and those who would undermine America's "Bible-guided culture".

Civilian massacres in Iran

Earlier Sunday, during his weekly Angelus prayer at the Vatican, the Pope prayed specifically for victims of what he termed the "atrocious violence of war" in the Middle East.

"I renew my closeness to all those who have lost loved ones in the attacks that have hit schools, hospitals, and residential areas," he said, offering prayers for the thousands of innocent victims.

The US-Israeli aggression against Iran, launched on February 28, has resulted in devastating civilian casualties.

One of the deadliest incidents occurred on the first day of the war when a missile strike destroyed a girls' elementary school in the southern city of Minab, killing around 170 children.

The Gandhi Hospital in Tehran also suffered extensive damage in the strikes.

Video footage shows the hospital with shattered windows, debris scattered throughout the facility, and patients, including a baby in an incubator, being evacuated from the building. The hospital's in-vitro fertilization department was completely destroyed.

International humanitarian organizations have condemned these attacks.

World Health Organisation chief Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the hospital strike as "extremely worrying," emphasizing that "health facilities are protected under international humanitarian law".

Other civilian sites damaged include the 12,000-seat Azadi sports complex, the historic Grand Bazaar in central Tehran, and the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

UNESCO has reminded all parties that "cultural property is protected under international law".

Pope Leo XIV speaks after leading Mass during a pastoral visit to the ‘Sacred Heart of Jesus’ Parish in Ponte Mammolo on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, in Rome on March 15, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

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