Pope Leo Demands Peace as Hegseth’s “Kill Them All” Order Sparks Outrage
Leo’s call for peace in Turkey comes as Trump’s ‘devout Christian’ defense chief faces war crime allegations.
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Under the stadium lights of Volkswagen Arena in Istanbul on Saturday night, Pope Leo XIV raised his voice in a fervent plea for peace.
Celebrating Mass on the final day of his visit to Türkiye, the first American Pope implored the world to “ensure that the tragedy of war ceases immediately.”
He spoke of the “many regions of our world” still torn by conflict, praying that leaders would “do everything possible” to end the blood.
Leo XIV implored the faithful to “build bridges” of unity across divides.
In a homily reflecting on the prophet Isaiah’s vision of swords beaten into plowshares, Leo stressed the urgency: “How urgent this call is for us today! How great the need for peace, unity and reconciliation around us, within us and among us!”
As wars and violent conflicts persist across the globe, Leo’s message in Türkiye could not be more timely.
In a country with only 33,000 Catholics, Leo’s words drew thunderous applause from an overflow crowd. Many had traveled hours for this moment: to hear a pope beg for peace in a region and world on edge.
No War in God’s Name
Leo’s appeal in Istanbul was the crescendo of a peace message he has hammered throughout his trip. Earlier in the week, on Pope Leo’s first day in Turkey, he met President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and urged Turkey to embrace the role of mediator in the world’s conflicts.
In Iznik — ancient Nicaea — the Pope joined Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew I and Christian leaders from across the Middle East to commemorate the Council of Nicaea’s 1700th anniversary.
There, by the ruins of a 4th-century basilica, Leo condemned violence in God’s name and called humanity to reconciliation.
“Today, the whole of humanity, afflicted by violence and conflict, is crying out for reconciliation,” he said, standing on the very soil where the Nicene Creed was forged.
“We must strongly reject the use of religion for justifying war or violence,” Leo urged, decrying the scandal of division and bloodshed among peoples of faith.
“We reject any use of religion and the name of God to justify violence.”
Those words — part of a joint declaration Leo signed with Patriarch Bartholomew in Istanbul — rang out as a sharp rebuke to anyone who would cloak violence in piety.
“Together we fervently raise our voices in invoking God’s gift of peace upon our world,” the Pope and Patriarch declared, rejecting any appeal to religion to legitimize brutality.
They jointly urged political leaders to act so that war “ceases immediately.”
Leo XIV, in just the first six months of his papacy, has made peacemaking a hallmark. Whether addressing a stadium full of Turkish faithful or praying with Orthodox bishops, his message has been consistent: no more “holy wars,” only a “holy” peace.
War Scandal Tests a ‘Proud Christian’
Yet even as Leo XIV was preaching peace in Turkey, an ocean away in Washington an ugly irony was unfolding. Late Friday, news broke that President Trump’s own defense secretary — Pete Hegseth — may have committed a war crime.
Here’s what happened and why it matters.
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