Leo XIV, in condemning all war as incompatible with God's will, has broken with Scripture, Church Tradition, and centuries of Catholic just war doctrine.
By Matthew McCusker
Crisis Magazine
April 17, 2026
Leo XIV has publicly contradicted the teaching of the Catholic Church that engaging in warfare is morally legitimate under certain conditions.
In his sermon for Palm Sunday, Leo XIV said:
Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: "Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood" (Is 1:15).
On April 10, comments posted on his official X account reiterated this position:
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...- Pope Leo XIV (@Pontifex) April 10, 2026
The comments have been made in the context of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which many Catholics - including the author of this article - regard as unjust.
Many will agree with Leo's comment that President Donald Trump's threat that a "whole civilization will die" was "truly unacceptable."
However, Leo XIV has not challenged the Iran war from the perspective of Catholic just war theory, but by rejecting the legitimacy of all wars, not just in the present but in the past also.
Without nuance or caveat, Leo has stated that (i) Our Lord "rejects war," (ii) that no one can "justify war" with reference to Him, and (iii) that "He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war."
These positions are all false, and contrary to the teaching and practice of the Catholic Church, as this article will show.
War in Sacred Scripture
The Sacred Scriptures, which are divinely revealed and free from all error, make it clear that (i) God commands war, (ii) war can be justified by reference to God's commands and revelation, and (iii) He listens to the prayers of those who wage war.
Indeed, the waging of war at God's command, and with His blessing, is one of the major themes of the Old Testament. Throughout the history of Israel and Judah, from the time of Moses down to the Maccabean revolt of the second century BC, God blessed those who fought in His name and He answered their prayers.
The book of Exodus provides an early and striking example of God directly intervening in the armed combat of the people of Israel:
Moses said to Josue: Choose out men: and go out and fight against Amalec: tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill having the rod of God in my hand. Josue did as Moses had spoken, and he fought against Amalec; but Moses, and Aaron, and Hur went up upon the top of the hill.
And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel overcame: but if he let them down a little, Amalec overcame. And Moses' hands were heavy: so they took a stone, and put under him, and he sat on it: and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands on both sides. And it came to pass that his hands were not weary until sunset. And Josue put Amalec and his people to flight, by the edge of the sword (Ex 17: 8-13).
The book of Joshua tells how God commanded the armies of Israel to invade the lands of the Canaanites, wage war against them, and take their lands for their own. In this campaign, as in later wars, God even gave specific military instructions, for example at the siege of Jericho (Joshua 6). In the book of Judges, we read that God commanded Gideon to reduce the size of his army, so that everyone might know it was God who fought for Israel (Judges 7).
King David directly sought, and received, God's guidance before his campaigns. For example, in 1 Kings 23:2 we read:
Therefore David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I go and smite these Philistines ? And the Lord said to David: Go, and thou shalt smite the Philistines, and shalt save Ceila.
And again in 2 Kings 5:19-20:
And David consulted the Lord, saying: Shall I go up to the Philistines ? and wilt thou deliver them into my hand ? And the Lord said to David: Go up, for I will surely deliver the Philistines into thy hand. And David came to Baal Pharisim: and defeated them there, and he said: The Lord hath divided my enemies before me, as waters are divided.
In Psalm 143, King David sings:
Blessed be the Lord my God, who teacheth my hands to fight, and my fingers to war. My mercy, and my refuge: my support, and my deliverer. (Ps 143: 1-2)
And in Psalm 18, David praised:
God who hath girt me with strength; and made my way blameless. Who hath made my feet like the feet of harts: and who setteth me upon high places. Who teacheth my hands to war: and thou hast made my arms like a brazen bow. (Ps 18:33-34)
Examples from Scripture could be multiplied, but these are enough to show that throughout the history of Israel, God has commanded war, answered the prayers of His warriors who prayed to Him, and blessed those who fought in His name.
The position expressed by Leo XIV is directly contrary to Divine Revelation and thus may not be held by any Catholic.
War under the New Covenant
God has continued to bless Catholic armies who have fought in His name. The history of the Church is replete with examples of Roman Pontiffs, the Vicars of Christ on Earth, blessing those who go to war in a just cause.
A well-known example is the launching of the First Crusade by Pope Urban VI in 1095. During his famous sermon at the Council of Clermont, he urged Christians to go to war "for your brethren who live in the east are in urgent need of your help and you must hasten to give them the aid which has often been promised them. For, as most of you have heard, the Turks and Arabs have attacked them... They have killed and captured many and have destroyed the churches and devastated the [Eastern Roman] empire."
Acting as Christ's vicar, he called western Christians to arms:
On this account I, or rather the Lord, beseech you as Christ's heralds to publish this everywhere and to persuade all people of whatever rank, foot-soldiers and knights, poor and rich, to carry aid promptly to those Christians... Christ commands it.
And He granted a plenary indulgence to all who participated:
All who die by the way, whether by land or by sea, or in battle against the pagans, shall have immediate remission of sins. This I grant them through the power of God with which I am invested.
Papal support for the military defense of Christendom remained steadfast throughout the centuries to come. Another well-known example is Pope St. Pius V's support for the Christian naval forces defending western Europe against the Turks at Lepanto in 1571. This great victory was widely attributed to the prayer of the rosary, which the Holy Father asked to be said, and the Church celebrates the Feast of the Holy Rosary on the anniversary of the battle.
The Church has also shown that God approves of fighting and leading just wars by repeatedly canonizing soldiers and military commanders.
For example, St. Ferdinand III of Castile (c.1199-1252) spent most of his reign at war with the Islamic rulers occupying southern Spain and is a major figure of the Spanish reconquista. St. Louis IX of France (1214-1270) led two crusading armies, the Seventh Crusade, which invaded Egypt, and the Eighth Crusade, in which he died. St. Joan of Arc (c.1412-1431) played a leading role in the concluding stages of the "Hundred Years War" between France and England, being given command of the armies of France.
By canonising these saints the Church has declared that all three of these war leaders practiced heroic virtue, are worthy of imitation, and now enjoy the beatific vision of God in heaven.