Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, speaking at a webinar on the illegal U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, which is engulfing many countries in Southwest Asia, stated that abusing God’s name by involving “pseudo-religious” language for the prosecution of war is the gravest sin.
“The abuse and manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit at this time” said Cardinal Pizzaballa. He continued, “War is first and foremost political and has very material interests, like most wars. We must do everything we can to leave no room for this pseudo-religious language, which speaks not of God, but of ourselves.”
On March 15 Vatican News reported that the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem was commenting on the words of the U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, an ardent supporter of the Crusades, “who, during a briefing, quoted Psalm 144 to invoke a divine blessing on the ongoing U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran.”
During the link to the International Oasis Foundation that sponsored the seminar, Cardinal Pizzaballa said that “as believers … we need to say that no, there are no new crusades. If God is present in this war, He is among those who are dying, who are suffering, who are in pain, who are oppressed in various ways, throughout the Middle East.” The Cardinal added that “there are manipulations [by] those who wish to bring religion into it to exploit the name of God.”
