The Lead
A Battle Plan for Stopping the Madness
by Dennis Small (EIRNS) — Apr. 09, 2026
Materialism dies hard. It is reputed, and probably true, that in 1944 Stalin sarcastically asked Winston Churchill the rhetorical question: “The Pope? How many divisions does the Pope have?”
U.S. President Donald Trump—himself a devout believer that only money, brute force, and threats of terrible harm hold sway in the world—is about to find out the answer to that question.
On July 3, one day before the United States officially celebrates the 250th anniversary of its independence, Pope Leo XIV (né Robert Prevost, of Chicago) will receive the Medal of Liberty from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. The Vatican has confirmed that the Pope, although he will not be there in person, will accept the medal and deliver remarks by live video hookup. As the National Catholic Reporter noted, “the July 3 event, held outside the National Constitution Center on Independence Mall, will bring civic leaders, faith representatives and members of the public together at a symbolic location: the historic district where the U.S. Constitution and the Declaration of Independence were drafted and signed.”
This is a nightmare for Trump—and for the British who are egging him on, along with their Israeli hitmen, to unleash a war of extinction against Iran, to be followed by Russia and China. Despite the fact that Elbridge Colby, the U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, had called in the Papal Nuncio to Washington back in January 2026, to threaten him that “The United States has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side,” according to a newly released report by The Free Press, the American Pope not only didn’t buckle but he escalated his criticism of the insanity that has seized Washington. On March 29, the Pope said: “Jesus is the King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war.… He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” And then on Tuesday, April 7—as the entire world held its collective breath, with Trump’s deadline threat to wipe out the entire Iranian civilization—Pope Leo called for action: “I would invite the citizens of all the countries involved, to contact the authorities—political leaders, congressmen—to ask them, to tell them, to work for peace and to reject war always.”
And now the American Pope is scheduled to address the American people on July 3, and will unquestionably invoke among Americans thoughts far closer to the original spirit of the Founding Fathers and the spirit of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” than whatever President Trump—assuming he is still in office on that date—will choose to say on July 4.
Precisely one month ago, on March 9, Schiller Institute founder Helga Zepp-LaRouche issued an open letter to Pope Leo, which began: “Holy Father, I am writing to you at this grave hour of mankind, as you may be the only person who could hopefully avoid a descent into what you yourself have called an ‘irreparable abyss,’ an escalation of the unprovoked war against Iran into potentially a global nuclear war, which would end all life on Earth.”
That letter calling, for a Dialogue of Civilizations in the spirit of Catholic Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, has helped mobilize forces around the world—of all religions and all cultural backgrounds—around the common purpose “to express their commitment for peace and thus cause a change in world history, fulfilling the will of God, who for sure did not create the world and gift humanity with reason, to have it destroyed by the lack of it.”
Where does the world stand today, on April 9? Within hours of the April 7 announcement of a fragile ceasefire between the U.S., Israel, and Iran, the Netanyahu government in Israel did its level best to destroy that agreement by massively bombing southern Lebanon—which was explicitly included in the ceasefire—killing hundreds of innocent civilians. However, as of this writing, U.S.-Iranian talks are still scheduled to begin this weekend in Islamabad, Pakistan.
The world remains a hair’s breadth away from general war in the region, and possibly global nuclear war. We call on all readers to increase their mobilization for peace, and to eliminate the underlying causes of war. Further organize around Zepp-LaRouche’s open letter to the Pope. Spread the word on the April 6 EIR Emergency Roundtable Dialogue about the causes and solutions to the current global crisis, as summarized in this press release. And circulate the Schiller Institute “Call for Immediate Action To Stop the Madness!” urging “whether you are a congressman, a doctor, a professor or an engineer, to join with other colleagues from around the world to contact and urge your American counterparts—congressmen, doctors, professors, etc.—to bring maximum pressure to bear on the U.S. Congress, the U.S. President, and civil society to stop the madness!”
Contents
Strategic War Danger
- Top Pentagon Official Threatened the Pope in January (↓)
- Israel Attacks Lebanon To Sabotage the Ceasefire with Iran (↓)
- Iran Insists Lebanon Is Part of the Ceasefire Deal (↓)
- U.S. Insists Lebanon Is Not Part of the Ceasefire Deal (↓)
- Uproar in Europe Over Israel's Brazen Sabotage of the Iran Ceasefire (↓)
New World Paradigm
- National Constitution Center To Award Pope Leo with Its Annual Liberty Medal (↓)
- Vatican Secretary of State: Peace Is Not Guaranteed by Weapons (↓)
Science and Technology
Harley Schlanger Update
Watch The Daily Update with Harley Schlanger, a short video update available every weekday morning from The LaRouche Organization.
