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God wont listen to war leaders - Popes blunt message on Iran war · THE DAILY BRIEF

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  Speaker 1: Now, as the war with Iran enters its second month,
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  Speaker 1: Pope Leo has issued a blunt warning to world leaders.
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  Speaker 1: At Palm Sunday Mass in the Vatican. He said God
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  Speaker 1: rejects the prayers of those who wage war. The comment
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  Speaker 1: comes as leaders on all sides of the Iran war
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  Speaker 1: are invoking religion to justify their actions in the Middle East.
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  Speaker 2: God rejects the prayers of those who wage war. The
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  Speaker 2: message of Pope Leo's Palm Sunday Mass was unusually.
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  Speaker 3: Forceful, brothers and sisters. This is our God, Jesus, King
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  Speaker 3: of Peace, who rejects war, who no one can use
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  Speaker 3: to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers
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  Speaker 3: of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying, even
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  Speaker 3: though you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your
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  Speaker 3: hands are full of.
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  Speaker 1: Blood Levos trimani, Grondanos sangui.
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  Speaker 2: Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used
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  Speaker 2: religion to justify their actions, with some US officials invoking
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  Speaker 2: Christian language in support of military action.
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  Speaker 4: May the Lord grant unyielding strength and refuge to our warriors,
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  Speaker 4: unbreakable protection to them in our homeland, in total victory
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  Speaker 4: over those who seek to harm them and Amen.
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  Speaker 2: The Vatican has no military or economic leverage, but the
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  Speaker 2: Pontiff's influence is often described by analysts as a form
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  Speaker 2: of soft power. Some commentators see the Pope's Palm Sunday
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  Speaker 2: homily as a forceful rejection to those invoking faith in
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  Speaker 2: the name of war, and his words of peace a
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  Speaker 2: powerful counterpoint to the political language surrounding the conflict.
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  Speaker 1: We have journalist Seema Gupta joining us from Rome Sema.
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  Speaker 1: The Vatican usually steers clear of such pointed language, especially
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  Speaker 1: against individuals. But when the Pope is specifically talking about
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  Speaker 1: people's prayers, who is he referencing.
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  Speaker 5: Well, he didn't specifically give any names, but clearly he's
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  Speaker 5: talking to all those who are involved in this war.
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  Speaker 5: And while his words are somewhat unusual, they were very
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  Speaker 5: forceful and strong. And we do know that Pope Leo
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  Speaker 5: is very clear in terms of he's careful in the
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  Speaker 5: words that he uses and essentially rejecting the claim that
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  Speaker 5: God is used to justify war.
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  Speaker 6: But it's not altogether new.
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  Speaker 5: If you look back at Pope Francis back in twenty
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  Speaker 5: twenty two, at the start of.
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  Speaker 6: The war in Ukraine.
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  Speaker 5: He also talked about and spoke out against the distorted
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  Speaker 5: use of religion to justify war, and similar such statements
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  Speaker 5: were also made in the past by then Pope John
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  Speaker 5: Paul the ICID as well as Pope Benedict the sixteenth.
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  Speaker 5: So this idea and this call for peace very much
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  Speaker 5: stressed by various pontiffs and by Pope Leo as well
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  Speaker 5: this time around, and he has ramped up his criticism
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  Speaker 5: of the war in Iran, and he has repeatedly made
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  Speaker 5: calls for an immediate cease fire.
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  Speaker 1: Sima, I wonder whether this Pope's American identity matters in
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  Speaker 1: this context. You have arguably the most influential political leader
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  Speaker 1: in the world. He has President Donald Trump, and now
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  Speaker 1: one of the world's most important religious leaders also being American.
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  Speaker 5: As a counterpoint, yes, I think it is very significant
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  Speaker 5: that you have the first ever North American pope from
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  Speaker 5: the US.
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  Speaker 6: Because of course this can show or become a possible.
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  Speaker 5: Challenge for the US administration when you an American speaking
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  Speaker 5: up very strongly representing one point four billion Catholics around
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  Speaker 5: the world and the Catholics in the United States as well,
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  Speaker 5: So it can be a challenge for them as they
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  Speaker 5: continue to pursue this war when he's speaking so clearly
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  Speaker 5: against it and calling for an immediately spire.
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  Speaker 6: Just on Monday he.
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  Speaker 5: Talked about how the military air strikes are indiscriminate and
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  Speaker 5: should simply be banned.
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  Speaker 1: And do you think this Pope will be more assertive
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  Speaker 1: on geopolitical matters you know, moving forward?
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  Speaker 5: Well, he already has been quite careful in the use
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  Speaker 5: of words. He didn't specifically point at any leaders, but
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  Speaker 5: that is what popes do. He's a religious leader. We
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  Speaker 5: also saw Pope Francis making very strong statements. It will
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  Speaker 5: be interesting to see how he goes forward. But as
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  Speaker 5: I mentioned, he has been ramping up his criticism of
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  Speaker 5: the Iran war and being very clear on the Vatican
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  Speaker 5: stand on it, which is for peace and a ceasefire.
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  Speaker 1: Are there any downsides of a more politically opinionated Pope
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  Speaker 1: and Vatican.
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  Speaker 5: Well, it depends on what kinds of issues that you're
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  Speaker 5: talking about. If indeed he speaks out quite clearly, that
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  Speaker 5: sometimes can end up being a backlash on the pope.
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  Speaker 5: And if you look at the characters of Pope Francis
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  Speaker 5: and the previous pope as well as Pope Leo, Pope
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  Speaker 5: Leo is known to be a little bit more cautious,
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  Speaker 5: a little bit more careful on the words that he uses.
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  Speaker 5: He likes to observe first before he makes a statement.
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  Speaker 5: That's what people who have observed him in the past
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  Speaker 5: before he became pontive have described him as.
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  Speaker 6: Being as such. So the fact that he's using such.
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  Speaker 5: Strong language, I think it's also important to talk about
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  Speaker 5: the context.
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  Speaker 6: It was a Palm Sunday service.
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  Speaker 5: This is the start of the Holy Week and important
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  Speaker 5: crucial week for Catholics and Christians around the world, and
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  Speaker 5: precisely in the context so that it was important for
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  Speaker 5: him to express this message of peace.
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  Speaker 6: It can become problematic for him if indeed he pushes too.
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  Speaker 5: Strong, perhaps on other issues, but for the moment, the
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  Speaker 5: message of peace is one that has been stressed by
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  Speaker 5: pontiffs in the past as well, and it's unlikely that
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  Speaker 5: we'll see Pope Leo not stressing that as well.
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  Speaker 1: Sima Gupta, thank you very much for joining us.