"American Christians can’t pretend we haven’t seen what our leaders have done this spring. Ours is no longer a government interested in haggling over the finer points of just war theory, a Scripture-shaped standard of ethical conduct in warfare, to defend a military intervention."

~ Justin R. Hawkins

#Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #war #WarCrimes #NuclearWeapons #genocide #morality #JustWar
/1

https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/04/threatening-profound-evil-trivializes-iran-just-war-theory-trump-hegseth/

Threatening Profound Evil Trivializes That Evil

President Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth speak often of Christianity—but they seem to have no interest in its vision for just warfare.

Christianity Today

"It is instead flirting with dispensing with that standard altogether, using the language and symbols of our faith while ignoring its substance. …

Trump and Hegseth seem to want to wage war unencumbered by the task of protecting the dignity of human life. But that task is not about 'politically correct and overbearing rules' or any other boogeymen of Hegseth’s imagination."

#Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #war #WarCrimes #NuclearWeapons #genocide #morality #JustWar
/2

"Its source is the very Christian faith Hegseth has so often praised within the Pentagon. Just war theory is a distinctly Christian moral innovation that we must not discard."

#Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #war #WarCrimes #NuclearWeapons #genocide #morality #JustWar
/3

"Pope Leo XIV on Friday issued a sweeping condemnation of war, continuing to reject the idea that military action can bring about peace or freedom as the Trump administration and other leaders use religion to justify the U.S.-Israel war in Iran."

~ Finya Swai

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #war #WarCrimes #NuclearWeapons #genocide #morality #JustWar
/4

https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/10/pope-leo-condemns-war-divine-backing-00867250

Pope Leo XIV condemns war, rejects claims of divine backing

The Pope is pushing back against rhetoric used by U.S. leaders to frame the Iran war as divinely sanctioned.

Politico

“'God does not bless any conflict,' Leo wrote on X. 'Anyone who is a disciple of Christ, the Prince of Peace, is never on the side of those who once wielded the sword and today drop bombs.'”

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #war #WarCrimes #NuclearWeapons #genocide #morality #JustWar
/5

“Absurd and inhuman violence is spreading ferociously through the sacred places of the Christian East, profaned by the blasphemy of war and the brutality of business, with no regard for people’s lives, which are considered at most collateral damage of self-interest."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #war #WarCrimes #NuclearWeapons #genocide #morality #JustWar
/6

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2026/4/10/2377290/-Absurd-and-inhuman-We-all-know-who-Pope-Leo-is-talking-about

‘Absurd and inhuman’: We all know who Pope Leo is talking about

Pope Leo XIV, the first U.S.-born pope in history, has proven in his first year in Vatican City that he has no qualms with criticizing the cruel and corrupt megalomaniac who occupies the Oval Office.

Daily Kos

"But no gain can be worth the life of the weakest, children, or families. No cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood."

As Emily Singer says, we all know who Pope Leo was talking about when he made that post yesterday on social media.

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #WhiteChristianNationalism #war #WarCrimes #NuclearWeapons #genocide #morality #JustWar
/7

Pope Leo continues to refuse to be bullied into silence. He said the following in Rome today:

"Even the holy Name of God, the God of life, is being dragged into discourses of death. A world of brothers and sisters with one heavenly Father vanishes, as in a nightmare, giving way to a reality populated by enemies. We are met by by threats, rather than the invitation to listen and to come together."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/8

https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/homilies/2026/documents/20260411-rosario-pace.html

Holy Rosary for Peace (11 April 2026)

HOLY ROSARY FOR PEACE PRAYER VIGIL LED BY POPE LEO XIV  Saint Peter's Basilica Saturday, 11 April 2026 [ Multimedia ] _____________________________________

"Brothers and sisters, those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death. 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 (cf. Ps 115:4–8), to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/9

"He's not backing down. … So this is from Newsweek, published yesterday. and is by Giulia Carbonaro, senior housing reporter: U.S. Catholics back Pope Leo as Trump loses support. As tensions between the White House and Pope Leo XIV continue to brew, U.S. Catholics appear to be increasingly turning their back on President Donald Trump, according to recent surveys."

~ Shannon Vavich

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/10

https://shannonvavich.substack.com/p/friday-replay-pope-bob-is-not-backing

Friday Replay: Pope Bob is not backing down..

Plus more jokes about Pete Hegseth! Catholic news, and more.

Gutter Catholic Daily Digest

"In the midst of the 2024 presidential election campaign, Pope Francis—a staunch critic of Trump and strong defender of migrants’ rights—had urged U.S. Catholics to choose 'the lesser evil' when casting their ballots.

A majority of them, 55 percent, voted for Trump, according to the Pew Research Center."

~ Giulia Carbonaro

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/11

https://www.newsweek.com/us-catholics-back-pope-leo-as-trump-loses-support-11805555

US Catholics Back Pope Leo as Trump Loses Support

U.S. Catholics are losing faith in President Donald Trump, while Pope Leo XIV is becoming more popular among all Americans.

Newsweek

"White Catholics overwhelmingly backed Trump (62 percent against 37 percent who backed Kamala Harris), while a majority of Hispanic Catholics (58 percent) voted for the Democratic candidate.

But Catholics’ enthusiasm for the president seems to be cooling fast."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/11

"A poll released in February by the Pew Research Center, issued before the start of the Middle East conflict, shows that in most religious groups—including evangelicals, Catholics, and Protestants who are not evangelicals—the president’s approval rating is now much lower than in the first days of his second term."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/12

"Approval for the way the president is handling his job is down to 52 percent from 59 percent in February 2025 among white Catholics, researchers found, while it is down to 23 percent from 31 percent among Hispanic Catholics. ...

Not only Trump is losing favor among U.S. Catholics—but support for Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff, is actually on the rise in the country across all Americans."

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/13

"The pope and a Hollywood actor offered the clearest indictment of Mr Trump’s threat this week. Let it stand without challenge, and the moral, normative and legal standards crumble still further, leaving Iranians and people around the world in peril."

~ The Guardian

#PopeLeo #Trump #Hegseth #Iran #war #WhiteChristianNationalism
/13

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/apr/10/the-guardian-view-on-trumps-civilisational-threats-the-words-that-fuel-war-must-be-condemned

The Guardian view on Trump’s civilisational threats: the words that fuel war must be condemned

Editorial: Military euphemisms can be deadly. Yet the brutal rhetoric of the US and Israel is proving still more lethal

The Guardian

@wdlindsy

we tried to warn them

@wdlindsy

i was raised catholic

i am now an atheist

and i'm here for leo xiv

@wdlindsy I do pray that he *is* creating cognitive dissonance in Catholics, but I fear with our media options people will simply decide to listen to people they've been listening too.
But the Holy Spirit might just have somethoing going on.
I was thinking of angels and how often they've been quoted saying 'do not be afraid," and imagined one appearing to JD Vance and saying "you should be afraid."
@wdlindsy Snork. I can write some stories with reversals.
How about a ... oh, it can still be a dove... descending and saying "FOLKS, do not listen to this one. He is misguided. I hope he will learn to listen to ME."
@geonz @wdlindsy I dunno, when Yahweh really wanted to mess someone up he sent an angel.
@CatDragon @wdlindsy Right ;)
I wonder if they'd mind if we did some creative media to make our own. LIke, a brief visit with the angel saying something to make 'em feel special and then ... what to do or what not to do.
@wdlindsy Just now on the Saturday "Illinois Stateside" on the radio, they said the Catholic Church here in Illinois is drawing folks in .... and I braced myself for hearing how it was the conservative wave because that's been the trend... but no, it's da Pope that's making things more popular. I'm mildly curious how folks goin' to the diocese churches feel around here.)