Pope decries horror, inhumanity that ‘some adults boast of with pride’

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 11 April.

“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. Prayer can move mountains, he said in his remarks in Italian.

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“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.