In fiery speech, Pope Leo says enough of war

(Patria) - Pope Leo on Saturday sharply criticized warmongers, calling on billions of people around the world to embrace peace and "believe again in love, moderation, and good politics," AFP reported.

In one of his most passionate messages, the American Pope said faith is needed "to face this dramatic hour in history together".
"Enough idolatry of self and money! Enough of showing off power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in service to life," he said in an address at a peace vigil in St. Peter's Basilica.

Delivered in a measured tone, as is customary for the quiet head of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics, the comments by the seventy-year-old Leo nevertheless marked some of the sharpest criticisms to date of the wave of conflicts engulfing the world.

"Dear brothers and sisters, there are certainly binding responsibilities that fall on the leaders of nations. To them we cry out: Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned and deadly actions are decided!"

As he has done in the past, he did not name politicians, nor did he call out specific countries.

The delusion of omnipotence

Responsibility also lies with the "vast multitude" that rejects war, calling on them to build the "Kingdom of Peace... in our homes, schools, neighborhoods, and civil and religious communities".

"A kingdom that opposes polemics and resignation through friendship and the culture of encounter. Let us believe once more in love, moderation, and good politics."
The Pope described the Kingdom of God as a "bulwark against the delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive." It is a place without "the sword, without drones, without revenge, without trivialization of evil, without unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding, and forgiveness".

He painted a grim picture of the current state of the world, "where there seem to be never enough graves, because people continue to crucify each other and eliminate life, regardless of justice and mercy."

Pope Leo, who was elected Pope last May after the death of his predecessor Francis, is moderate and known as a bridge-builder. But he increasingly condemns the conflicts that divide the world, most recently on Friday when he protested against the "senseless and inhuman violence" spreading in the Holy Land.

Leo has repeatedly called for de-escalation in the current US-Israeli war against Iran and the need for a diplomatic solution.