Pope Leo Ramps Up Anti-War Criticism Amid Reports of Diplomat’s Feisty Meeting with Trump Admin: ‘God Does Not Bless Any Conflict’

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Pope Leo XIV on Friday continued speaking out against the war plaguing the Middle East as the rift between the Vatican and the White House deepens.

The Pope posted a series of tweets calling for peace in the region. Days earlier, President Donald Trump announced a two-week ceasefire as the countries worked to finalize a formal peace agreement, but that ceasefire has been threatened by Israel’s attacks in Lebanon. Representatives from Israel and Lebanon were set to meet in Washington, D.C. the following week.

On Friday, the Pope began with a tweet that read:

God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs. Military action will not create space for freedom or times of #Peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples.

Those comments notably came two days after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invoked God in response to news about the ceasefire, claiming that there were “tens of thousands of strikes carried out under the protection of divine providence.”

The Pope continued in another tweet:

Absurd and inhuman violence is spreading ferociously through the sacred places of the Christian East, profaned by the blasphemy of war and the brutality of business, with no regard for people’s lives, which are considered at most collateral damage of self-interest. But no gain can be worth the life of the weakest, children, or families. No cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood.

The Pope’s comments came days after reports of a tense meeting involving a Vatican diplomat at the Pentagon. During this meeting, a U.S. official reportedly referenced the Avignon Papacy of the 14th century — an era in which the French Crown used its military power to influence the Catholic Church. According to reports, the Vatican took the reference as a threat and Pope Leo canceled a scheduled visit to the U.S.

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