Cardinal Pizzaballa condemns invoking divine blessing on war as gravest sin

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa condemned U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for invoking God in justification of war against Iran and declared that manipulating divine names is a grave sin, emphasizing instead there are no new crusades with any role from the Almighty during this conflict involving Gaza's ongoing humanitarian crisis between Israel and Hamas regarding weapons control or withdrawal terms remains unresolved as Trump's Board of Peace initiative has not yet been operational.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa condemned using God's name as a pretext for war and political gain during an International Oasis Foundation webinar. He emphasized that true religious presence lies with victims of conflict rather than those exploiting faith to justify violence, explicitly rejecting the framing of current Middle East hostilities as new crusades or pseudo-religious endeavors.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pinniballla condemned U.S. Secretary Pete Hegseth's invocation of God to justify military aggression against Iran, labeling such religious manipulation as a grave sin and asserting that war is primarily political rather than divine in nature. The Cardinal emphasized the presence among those suffering from conflict across the Middle East while rejecting claims of new crusades or pseudo-religious justifications for violence on either side.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa condemned the use of God's name to justify war in the Middle East as "the gravest sin," urging against pseudo-religious language that masks political and material interests during conflicts like those involving Iran. He emphasized building a sustainable future on peace rather than violence, which he described as creating fear and hatred without offering any true hope for life or progress.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa declared that using God's name to justify war is "the gravest sin" and emphasized there are no new crusades. He stated that if God were present, it would be among those suffering in the conflict rather than with political actors exploiting religion for material interests.