Frankly, I’d hoped for better.

After the previous pontiff accused Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza and celebrated his last Christmas ogling baby Jesus swaddled in a Palestinian keffiyeh, well, I thought maybe the new one might be wiser, kinder, and less divisive.

Two weeks ago, the now-reigning Pope Leo XIV called the ongoing war in Iran a “scandal on the whole human family,” suggesting that aerial bombings should be banned.

A week later, he wondered whether “those Christians who bear grave responsibility in armed conflicts have the humility and courage to make a serious examination of conscience and go to confession?” As US President Donald Trump and his minions are the only Christians directly involved in this particular armed conflict, the implication was clear.

And then, in a Palm Sunday homily at the Vatican’s Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Leo evoked the Savior himself. Jesus, he insisted, “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying…your hands are........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)