Pope Leo says Christians who start wars should go to confession
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While Pope Leo did not name anyone on March 13, in recent days he has been ramping up calls for an end to the ongoing Iran war.
PHOTO: REUTERS
VATICAN CITY – Pope Leo XIV suggested on March 13 that Christian political leaders who start wars should go to confession and assess whether they are following the teachings of Jesus, without naming any specific leaders or conflicts.
“Do those Christians who bear grave responsibility in armed conflicts have the humility and courage to make a serious examination of conscience and to go to confession?” the Pope asked in a speech to priests.
While Pope Leo did not name anyone on March 13, in recent days he has been ramping up calls for an end to the ongoing Iran war, which began with joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Feb 28.
US President Donald Trump was raised in the Presbyterian Christian faith. Several of his top deputies, including Vice-President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are Catholic.
Jesus taught his followers to be non-violent. The Catholic Church generally opposes war.
For centuries, the Church has evaluated conflicts according to the just war tradition, which uses a series of criteria to evaluate whether a conflict can be considered morally justifiable, for example repelling an unjust invasion.
Washington D.C. Cardinal Robert McElroy earlier this week said the US-Israeli strikes against Iran were “not morally legitimate” because they did not meet the Church’s just war criteria.
Pope Leo was speaking on March 13 to a Vatican conference on the practice of confession, in which Catholics admit their sins to a priest and ask God’s forgiveness.
The Pope said that the ritual helps individual Catholics and promotes peace and unity in society. REUTERS
