Pope says God rejects prayers of leaders who wage wars

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo said on Sunday that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have “hands full of blood”, in unusually forceful remarks as the Iran war entered its second month.

Addressing tens of thousands in St. Peter’s Square on Palm Sunday, the celebration that opens the holy week leading up to Easter for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, the pontiff called the conflict “atrocious” and

Leo did not specifically name any world leaders, but he has been ramping up criticism of the Iran war in recent weeks. During an appeal at the end of Sunday’s celebration, the pope lamented that Christians in the Middle East “are suffering the consequences of an atrocious conflict” and may not be able to celebrate Easter.