Ken Klippenstein - Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, hasn’t shied away from speaking critically about wars involving America. Or its allies. Or its adversaries.
Whether or not you’re Catholic (I’m not), that a figure as prominent as the Pope detests the world’s forever wars is a big deal: even more so given that he’s a baseball-loving American from the birthplace of the military industrial complex.
Leo made headlines last week for speaking out against the “barbarity of war” following an Israeli strike that destroyed the only Catholic Church in Gaza.
The vibe of the media coverage implied that the Pope cared because the casualties amongst the civilians who had taken refuge there included Christians. That’s a misread: Leo has been an outspoken critic of today’s wars since he was elected Pope on May 8. By my count of Vatican press releases, Leo has uttered the word “war” on at least two dozen separate days since, addressing not just Gaza but the wars in Ukraine, Iran, Syria and Myanmar, as well as about militarism in general. I’ve produced a timeline of Leo’s remarks on war below.
It’s understandable that Leo’s criticism of the war in Gaza has garnered the most press. Unlike his predecessor, Pope Francis, who tended to focus on humanitarian aid, Leo hasn’t been shy to address war itself or to rebuke the Israeli government, as he did in his call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following the church strike.
Leo’s comments to Netanyahu are the most pointed I’ve ever seen from an influential global leader, let alone one of the few examples there are of a moral voice in western society. Telling Netanyahu about the “agonizing price” being paid by Gaza’s “children, elderly and sick,” Leo called for an end to the fighting. Per the Vatican’s readout of the call.
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