Responding to a letter, Pope Leo denounced “those who dare to associate God’s name with acts of war.”
God’s name is “profaned by the will to dominate, by arrogance, and by discrimination; above all, it must never be invoked to justify choices and actions that bring death,” Pope Leo wrote in the June issue of Piazza San Pietro, the magazine of St. Peter’s Basilica. “Unfortunately, this temptation to profane God’s name affects even those who profess to be Christians.”
The words of faith should not be dragged “into political conflict,” or used “to bless nationalism and religiously justify violence and armed struggle,” the Pope added.