India, March 30 -- Pope Leo XIV on Sunday rejected claims that God justifies war and prayed especially for Christians in the Middle East during a Palm Sunday Mass before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.

With the US-Israeli war on Iran entering its second month and Russia's ongoing campaign in Ukraine, Leo dedicated his Palm Sunday homily to insisting that God is the "king of peace" who rejects violence and comforts those who are oppressed. "Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war," Leo said. "He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them."

Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions....