Pope denounces idolatry of war at prayer vigil for peace

“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” the Pope said during a special evening prayer vigil for peace in St Peter’s Basilica on April 11.

“Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death,” he said. “Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind and deaf idol, to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee.

“Let us listen to the voices of children,” who write to the Pope all the time, recounting “all the horror and inhumanity of actions that some adults boast of with pride,” he said. 

The vigil, which drew thousands of people inside and outside the basilica, featured the recitation of the glorious mysteries of the Rosary. Before each mystery was recited, women wearing traditional dress from countries representing the different continents of the world lit small lamps from a flame from the Lamp of Peace from Assisi that was placed below a statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace.

While the Pope did not mention any one current conflict in his remarks, he did recall St John Paul II’s fervent efforts and calls for peace during the 2003 invasion of Iraq conducted by the United States with the assistance of a multi-national coalition.

“I make his appeal my own this evening, relevant as it is today,” Pope Leo said, referring to his predecessor’s calls for “No more war.”

With the help of prayer and God, people can help “break the demonic cycle of evil” and be at the service of the Kingdom of God, where there is “no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialisation of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness”, Pope Leo said.

“It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” he added.

He criticised the use of God’s name in justifying violence, saying “even the holy name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death”.

Speaking to the world’s leaders, the Pope said, “Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned, and deadly actions are decided!”

On April 12, US President Donald Trump criticised Pope Leo in a lengthy social media post, Associated Press reported.

Speaking to reporters on his flight from Rome to Algeria on April 13, Pope Leo said “I have no fear of the Trump administration or speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do”, CNN reported.

“We are not politicians, we don’t deal with foreign policy with the same perspective (as) he might understand it,” the Pope continued. “But I do believe in the message of the Gospel, as a peacemaker.”

FULL STORY

Pope decries horror, inhumanity that ‘some adults boast of with pride’ (By Carol Glatz/CNS/USCCB)

Trump lambasts pope, extending feud over Iran war (Associated Press)

Pope says he has ‘no fear of Trump administration’ after president slams his Iran war criticism | CNN Politics (CNN)

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