The New York Times published a report titled “Higgseth says U.S. troops are fighting for Christ…Pope disagrees,” in which the newspaper’s Rome correspondent, Motoko Reich, asserted that, in stark contrast to the Trump administration’s calls for Christian prayer for the war effort, Pope Leo XIV says military dominance is “completely alien to the approach of Jesus Christ.”
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has called on the American people to pray “every day and on their knees” for a military victory in the Middle East “in the name of Jesus Christ,” but Pope Leo XIV, the U.S.-born American, offers a very different vision of what should be done in the name of Christ.
The report noted that in a sermon he delivered last Thursday morning at a Mass before Easter, the Pope stressed that the Christian message has often been “distorted by a desire for domination which is completely alien to the approach of Jesus Christ.”
He noted that since the United States and Israel began the war on Iran in late February, the Pope has consistently called for an end to the violence and a return to dialogue to resolve the conflict. He did not mention Hegseth by name but referred to the use of Christianity for purposes inconsistent with Catholic teachings.
The Pope said: “We tend to consider ourselves strong when we dominate, victorious when we destroy those like us, and great when we are feared. But God has given us an example not of how to dominate, but of how to liberate, not of how to destroy life, but of how to give it.”
In late March, the Pope warned against using the name of Christ in the context of wars, stressing that Christ “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage wars, but rejects them.”
The Pope only mentioned US President Donald Trump when asked directly by journalists, saying, “I have been informed that President Trump recently stated that he wants to end the war. We hope that he is seeking to reduce the level of violence and bombing.”
The Pope confirmed that he did not speak directly with Trump about the war, but on Friday morning he had a telephone conversation with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, during which he stressed the importance of dialogue and ending conflicts in order to achieve a “just and lasting peace” in the Middle East, according to a Vatican statement.
The United States says it is officially a secular state, but its war with Israel over Iran has been colored by religious rhetoric.
Pope Leo XIV warned against using the name of Christ in the context of wars, stressing that Christ “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage wars, but rejects them.”
During Holy Week, which commemorates the final days of Christ before his crucifixion, according to Christian belief, the White House once again welcomed religious representatives for a religious ceremony and later deleted, showed an evangelical pastor reciting a prayer that included: "Father, you have lifted up Donald Trump, you have prepared him for a moment like this, and we pray, Father, that you will grant him victory."
This clip sparked a wave of criticism on social media.
One of the most prominent figures with a religious tone in this war is US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who, in a press conference, called for prayers for American soldiers deployed in the Gulf “in the name of Jesus Christ,” ignoring the presence of soldiers of other faiths in his army.
He frequently quotes from the Bible. At the same conference, he invoked a prayer from the Book of Psalms by the Prophet David during his battle with his enemies: “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who teaches my hands to fight and my fingers to wage war.”
In an interview on CBC, he said he was fighting “religious extremists seeking to acquire nuclear capability in preparation for Armageddon,” a biblical term for an end-times war between good and evil.
Before assuming his post, Higseth was an infantry officer who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, earning two major military decorations. After his military career, he became a presenter on the conservative Fox News channel.
Higseth has several tattoos on his body, including a Jerusalem cross on his chest , a Christian symbol that emerged during the Crusades. He also has a tattoo of the word "infidel" in Arabic!
In 2020, he published a book entitled “American Crusades” against the American left, in which he launched a call to defend Western civilization, which he sees as being in decline.
This trend is provoking criticism both within and outside America, as the Pope has clearly expressed.
Kenneth Williams, a former Pentagon military chaplain and professor at Georgetown University, said, “For a high-ranking official to impose a particular religious vision at the expense of religious diversity within the military and the nation is, at a minimum, a lack of respect, and at a maximum, an abuse of power.”
In response, White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt said onMonday that praying for the military was "a very noble thing to do," rejecting the criticism.
The US president plans to hold a gathering on May 17 in Washington to pray "for America to be rededicated to God."
Tags:
america
