Pope Leo warns: Invoking God to justify war is to ‘profane’ his name
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METZ, France (RNS) – Pope Leo XIV once again stressed that God does not promote war and called for the protection of human dignity and life, during the last day of his papal visit to France on Monday (Sept. 28).
“To invoke God’s name in order to justify violence or oppression is to profane that name. Nothing that disfigures human dignity can claim to be inspired by God,” Leo said during an interreligious gathering at the Robert Schuman Conference Center in Metz.
“Religions are guardians of life,” he added, and their fruitfulness is in their “loving presence alongside those who are most vulnerable and fragile.”
The pope’s past remarks that God rejects war drew the ire of U.S. President Donald Trump this spring, leading to a public disagreement over the war in Iran.
Participants at the Metz event, including the chief rabbi of France, the heads of Orthodox and Protestant churches and representatives of the Islamic and Buddhist federations in the country, signed the Metz Appeal, describing their commitment to peace, dialogue and the defense of human dignity.
The pope chose Metz to deliver…
