In his strongest words yet, Pope Leo XIV on Saturday denounced the “delusion of omnipotence” that he believes is fueling the U.S.-Israel war on Iran and demanded that political leaders stop and negotiate peace. Earlier in the week he also said God doesn’t bless any war, and certainly not those nations who drop bombs.

Specifically, during his Palm Sunday address on March 29th, he declared that God rejects the prayers of those who initiate war, stating that their “hands are full of blood.” This, based on a reference to Isaiah 1:15 where it is written, “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.”

For someone who grew up in the rough and tumble south suburban Chicago village of Dolton, and rose to the highest position in the Catholic church, the Pope seems not to have learned much about either war or the bible. Perhaps, as the high priest of old, he has just forgotten; he is, after all, human like all the rest of us.

It would seem that the Pope, like many people, makes the mistake of reading what the Bible says in Exodus 20:13, “Thou shall not kill,” and seeks to apply this command to not engage in war. However, the Hebrew word literally means “the intentional, premeditated killing of another person with malice or murder.” God often ordered the Israelites to go to war with........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)