Warning against an increasingly unpredictable and aggressive “delusion of omnipotence” threatening the globe, Pope Leo XIV called on world leaders and individuals to empty their hearts and minds of hatred and violence, and to start serving life.
“Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” he said during a special evening prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica April 11.
“Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death,” he said. “Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind and deaf idol, to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee.”
“Let us listen to the voices of children,” who write to him all the time, recounting “all the horror and inhumanity of actions that some adults boast of with pride,” he said.
The vigil, which drew thousands of people inside and outside the basilica, featured the recitation of the glorious mysteries of the rosary. Before each mystery was recited, women wearing traditional dress from countries representing the different continents of the world lit small lamps from a flame from the Lamp of Peace from Assisi that was placed below a statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace.
Prayer can move mountains, he said in his remarks in Italian. “War divides; hope unites. Arrogance tramples upon others; love lifts up. Idolatry blinds us; the living God enlightens.”
It just takes a tiny bit of faith “to face this dramatic hour in history together,” he said.
For a people of faith in the risen Lord who conquered death with love, he said, “nothing can confine us to a predetermined fate, not even in this world where there never seem to be enough graves, for people continue to crucify one another and eliminate life, with no regard to justice and mercy.”
While the pope did not mention any one current conflict in his remarks, he did recall St. John Paul II’s fervent efforts and calls for peace during the 2003 invasion of Iraq conducted by the U.S. with the assistance of a multi-national coalition.
“I make his appeal my own this evening, relevant as it is today,” Pope Leo said, referring to his predecessors’ calls for “No more war.”
“The Church is a great people at the service of reconciliation and peace,” he said. “She advances without hesitation, even when rejecting the logic of war may lead to misunderstanding and scorn.”
The Church “proclaims the Gospel of peace and instills obedience to God rather than any human authority, especially when the inherent dignity of other human beings is threatened by continuous violations of international law,” Pope Leo said.
With the help of prayer and God, people can help “break the demonic cycle of evil” and be at the service of the Kingdom of God, where there is “no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialization of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness,” Pope Leo said.
“It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” he added.
He criticized the use of God’s name in justifying violence, saying “even the holy name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death.”
Those invoking God’s name in such a way erase a world made up of brothers and sisters with one heavenly Father and instead create a “nightmare” where the world is made up of enemies and threats, rather than calls to listen and to come together.
Speaking to the world’s leaders, the pope said, “Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned, and deadly actions are decided!”
However, all the world’s people also have a duty to reject the violence in their own hearts and minds, and help build a kingdom of peace each and every day in one’s own home, school and community, he said.
“Let us believe once again in love, moderation and good politics,” he said, urging people to learn more and “get personally involved” in being part of “the mosaic of peace!”
“Dear brothers and sisters, let us return home having made a commitment to pray without ceasing and without growing weary, a commitment to a profound conversion of heart,” the pope said.
Before entering the basilica, Pope Leo greeted the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, thanking them for their presence. He explained his reason for calling for the prayer vigil, which was also being joined by countless others around the world, either online or in their own parishes.
By praying the rosary together, he said, “we want to tell the whole world that it is possible to build peace, a new peace, that it is possible for all people, of all religions, of all ethnicities, to live together, and that we want to be disciples of Jesus Christ, united as brothers and sisters, all united in a world of peace.”
