With Easter, 2026, taking
place amid the holocaustic genocide in Gaza, Russia’s ongoing invasion of
Ukraine, and the U.S./Israel attacks against Israel, Pope Leo used the occasion
to speak out against war, and those who benefit politically and by profiting
from war. The pope’s absolute rejection of war included excoriating Christians
who had been using theological rationales to justify war. Although not in the
pope’s field of vision at the time, such Christians have included the popes who
had perpetuated four crusades—the last of which was waged against Constantinople
(i.e., eastern Christians)—in Medieval European Christendom. The implication is
that Jesus did not hear the prayers of those militarized Christians who thought
they were defending Jesus and his Church.
The full essay is at "Pope Leo Denounces Warmongers."
