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 other nations, as in 1 Samuel 15:3 and Joshua 4:13. As well, God ordered the death penalty for numerous crimes (Exodus 21:12; 15; 22:19; and Leviticus 20:11, for example). So, God is not against killing in all circumstances, but only murder for murder’s sake.

To be sure, war is never a good thing as “good” is generally defined when describing people, but sometimes it is a necessary thing. In a world filled with sinful people, war is often inevitable. Sometimes the only way to keep sinful people from doing great harm to the innocent is by going to war.

In Numbers 31:2 God orders the Israelites to “take vengeance on the Midianites for the Israelites.” Later on, in Deuteronomy 20:16-17, God declares, “However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them…as the Lord your God has commanded you.”

Lastly, in the first book of Samuel 15:18 God says, “Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.”

It is, of course, possible that the Pope, like so many people worldwide who have been critical of the US and Israel taking military action against Iran, simply doesn’t take the threat to civilization that Iran poses seriously enough. So many people seem not to understand that this nation of 90 million people is being run by religious fanatics whose stated goal is first the elimination of Israel, then the destruction of America, and finally conquering the entire non-Muslim world (and even that part of the Muslim world with which it fundamentally disagrees on religious grounds). Should they be allowed to achieve those goals, even the Vatican would not be spared. And should they develop the weaponry to carry out those objectives, is there any doubt that they would use them?

One can argue whether this was the right time to engage militarily with Iran? Or whether the free world is ready for the long battle that will be needed to neutralize the threat? Or, given the current situation, whether the people who took the rest of us into war are competent enough to spearhead the effort? That last one is a serious question not easily answered. Having the guts to start the war is not proof that the leadership has the skills needed to bring the war to a positive conclusion.

However, there can be no argument that the threat itself demands neutralization. Perhaps if the Pope had spent some time learning in a Yeshiva in addition to his many years of study in Christian institutions, he would have come across the Talmud’s Tractate Sanhedrin 72a (i.e. Assembly of Judges), part of Seder Nezikin (i.e. Order of Damages) where it is written: “If someone comes to kill you, rise and kill him first.” While this verse may not be found in the Torah per se, it is a principle from the Talmud which is the Jewish oral law with the same imperative as if it were in the Torah itself.

Nevertheless, an attempt at diplomacy did occur a few days ago. Sadly, the efforts in Islamabad, Pakistan over this weekend seem to have ended where they began, with the only accomplishment being that representatives of the US and Iran met face to face in the same room for the first time in 47 years. That was no small thing, and Pakistan should be saluted for working to make that happen.

For those of us living here in Israel, however, barring any possible capitulation by the US, we will probably return to the shelters again, most likely sooner rather than later. Clearly, if it then turns out that our leadership here and those in Washington cannot lead us forward, it will be up to the citizenry here and there to make their voices known in the upcoming elections this fall.

As for the Pope, I have said many times recently that the world has not been able to identify those few individuals who have the intelligence, charisma, vision, experience and influence to bring people together in the interests of world peace. It remains an elusive search, but for sure, Pope Leo XIV is not that person.

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)