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pete hegseth
In Latest Rebuke of Trump and Hegseth, Pope Says 'God Does Not Bless Any Conflict'
"Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs."
Apr 10, 2026
Pope Leo XIV on Friday vehemently rejected the notion that "God" endorses any war in remarks many interpreted as an implicit rebuke of President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and others who claim that the Christian deity figure supports the illegal US-Israeli war of choice against Iran.
"God does not bless any conflict. Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs," the pope said on X. "Military action will not create space for freedom or timees of peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples."
"Absurd and inhuman violence is spreading ferociously through the sacred places of the Christian East, profaned by the blasphemy of war and the brutality of business, with no regard for people’s lives, which are considered at most collateral damage of self-interest," the American pontiff added. "But no gain can be worth the life of the weakest, children, or families. No cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood."
This, after the pope responded to Trump's genocidal threat to destroy Iran's civilization by urging "all the people of goodwill to search always for peace, and not violence, to reject war, especially a war which many people have said is an unjust war."
Responding to President Trump’s threat that “a whole civilisation will die tonight”, Pope Leo XIV calls for peace, says “let's remember, especially the innocent children, the elderly, sick. So many people who have already become, or will become victims of this continued warfare,… pic.twitter.com/2LygUzjuC6
— Catholic Sat (@CatholicSat) April 7, 2026
The pope's latest remarks also followed Trump's assertion that God supports the US-Israeli war on Iran and the claim by Hegseth, a Christian nationalist, that American airstrikes on Iran—which have killed more than 2,000 people including hundreds of children—are being "carried out under the protection of divine providence."
Pope Leo used his Palm Sunday sermon to take what many observers interpreted as a swipe at Hegseth after the self-styled secretary of war publicly prayed that God "trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle."
“This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” the pope said. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.”
The pontiff also criticized the Trump administration ahead of its brief invasion of Venezuela and kidnapping of its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife in January.
The pope's latest comments came on the heels of reporting that a senior Pentagon official bullied Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the Vatican’s US diplomatic representative, telling him that the United States “has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world," and that "the Catholic Church had better take its side."
Another Pentagon official allegedly mentioned the Avignon Papacy, a period in the 14th century when popes resided in France and were essentially controlled by the French monarch—a reference some Vatican officials reportedly took as a threat.
Did…the Trump regime lowkey threaten to kill the pope?
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— Max Berger (@maxberger.bsky.social) April 8, 2026 at 2:32 PM
Early during the war, Congressional Freethought Caucus Co-Chairs Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel Ranking Member Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) led 27 of their colleagues in requesting the Defense Department investigate reports that US commanders were invoking the apocalyptic theology of "End Times" prophecy to justify attacks on Iran.
American leaders have claimed divine sanction for their wars since the nation's inception, from George Washington claiming that "the hand of Providence" favored the revolt against Britain, to George W. Bush declaring that "God is not neutral" as he launched the decadeslong "crusade" against terror after 9/11 that has killed nearly a million people in more than half a dozen countries, almost all of them Muslims.
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'We Were Locked and Loaded': Hegseth Says Trump War Crime Threats Were No Bluff
"Anyone who orders, carries out, or is otherwise complicit in, President Trump’s abhorrent threats must be held accountable," said a coalition of advocacy organizations.
Apr 08, 2026
Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's genocidal threats against Iran were not a bluff, telling reporters in the wake of a two-week ceasefire deal that US forces were fully prepared to unleash an illegal and devastating assault on Iranian infrastructure.
"Had Iran refused our terms, the next targets would have been their power plants, their bridges, and oil and energy infrastructure—targets they could not defend and could not realistically rebuild," Hegseth told reporters during a characteristically belligerent press briefing. "We were locked and loaded... President Trump had the power to cripple Iran's entire economy in minutes."
Hegseth: If Iran refused our terms, the next targets would have been their power plants, their bridges and oil and energy infrastructure—we were locked and loaded. They couldn't defend against it. President Trump chose mercy because Iran accepted the ceasefire under overwhelming… pic.twitter.com/QMklWNM8PH
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 8, 2026
Hegseth—who, like Trump, is facing articles of impeachment in the US House—went on to say that American forces aren't "going anywhere" and are "prepared to restart" the bombing of Iran "at a moment's notice," echoing the president and underscoring the fragility of the newly announced ceasefire.
"The United States military has the ability to strike [Iran] with impunity," the Pentagon secretary declared, asserting that the president's threats forced Iran to the negotiating table—a narrative that Iranian leaders rejected in their statement on the ceasefire deal.
"The enemy, in its cowardly, illegal, and criminal war against the Iranian nation, has suffered an undeniable, historical, and crushing defeat," Iran's Supreme National Security Council said in a statement. "We congratulate all the people of Iran on this victory and emphasize that until the details of this victory are finalized, there remains a need for the steadfastness and prudence of officials and the maintenance of unity and solidarity among the Iranian people."
The Trump administration's past and continued threats to attack Iran's infrastructure—even if they aren't ultimately carried out—are violations of international law, Yale Law School professor Oona Hathaway said Wednesday, pointing to the Geneva Conventions.
"Threats of use of force also violate the United Nations Charter," said Hathaway, a former special counsel at the Pentagon. "Moreover, the threat to commit mass war crimes raises questions as to whether the US is fighting the war consistent with its legal obligations. It gives insight into intent that may be relevant to war crimes investigations."
In a statement issued shortly before the two-week ceasefire was announced, a broad coalition of more than 200 organizations and experts reminded "those engaged in military operations of their obligation to refuse any patently unlawful orders."
"Anyone who orders, carries out, or is otherwise complicit in, President Trump’s abhorrent threats must be held accountable," the groups said.
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Iranian American Lawmaker Announces Effort to Impeach Hegseth for 'Repeated War Crimes'
Democratic Rep. Yassamin Ansari called the Pentagon secretary "a chief enabler of this illegal war" and accused him of repeatedly violating his oath of office.
Apr 07, 2026
US Rep. Yassamin Ansari, the lone Iranian American Democrat in Congress, said on Monday that she will soon introduce articles of impeachment against Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth, the most prominent cheerleader of President Donald Trump's illegal war on Iran.
In a statement, Ansari (Ariz.) said that Hegseth has "repeatedly" violated his oath of office and his duty to the Constitution. The Democratic lawmaker, who said she would formally introduce the impeachment articles next week, pointed to Hegseth's "reckless endangerment of US servicemembers and repeated war crimes, including bombing a girls’ school in Minab, Iran."
Ansari, who was born in Seattle to parents who fled Iran following the 1979 revolution, warned that Trump's "deranged statements" and "apocalyptic" threats to obliterate Iranian bridges and power plants as soon as Tuesday night "are further entrenching our country and our world in another devastating, never-ending war."
"He’s threatening war crimes that violate US law and the Geneva Convention, on top of illegal actions and atrocities already committed at his direction–including violence that has destroyed schools, hospitals, and critical civilian infrastructure," said Ansari. "Republicans must join us in calling on the president to end this suicidal war before it is too late. So much is at stake, and those who continue to follow him blindly will have blood on their hands as well."
"As the daughter of Iranian immigrants who fled this regime, and as an American congresswoman who swore an oath to the United States Constitution, I know that this cannot go on," Ansari continued. "The 25th Amendment exists for a reason; his Cabinet should use it. The fate of US troops, the Iranian people, and the very foundation of our global system are at stake."
In a video posted to social media, Ansari said that "as a chief enabler of this illegal war, Pete Hegseth is responsible for directing this insane military action against Iran."
I’m introducing Articles of Impeachment against Pete Hegseth. Here’s why. pic.twitter.com/mMblG7tA7s
— Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari (@RepYassAnsari) April 7, 2026
Hegseth has been the foremost public advocate of Trump's war, praising the "lethality" of the American military and the "death and destruction" it is raining down on Iran, where US-Israeli attacks have killed around 2,000 people—including hundreds of children—and destroyed tens of thousands of civilian structures, from residential buildings to universities to medical facilities.
The Pentagon secretary has also derided what he's called "stupid rules of engagement" that constrain US servicemembers, gutted offices tasked with working to limit civilian casualties in war, and fired uniformed lawyers he's dismissed as "roadblocks" in the way of "maximum lethality."
Experts say those moves have made atrocities such as the one the US military committed on the first day of the war—the bombing of an elementary school in southern Iran—more likely. Human rights organizations and international legal scholars have said the attack should be investigated as a war crime.
Hegseth also said last month that "no quarter" would be given to "our enemies" in Iran, a statement indicating that surrendering combatants would be executed rather than taken prisoner. The declaration itself was seen as a clear violation of international law.
"Hegseth is making people less safe—and it’s time for him to go," the advocacy group Win Without War said last month in its own call for the Pentagon secretary's impeachment and removal.
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