260. The world is being ravaged by a handful of tyrants

I am happy that Pope Leo XIV is on my wavelength. 

I have never been a fan of any religious leader because I find them outwardly cunning, manipulative, dull, and boring. 

They represent the ultimate falsehoods of a large organization that claims to serve people, those who follow them, while actually binding them by professing to be a conduit to their next life. 

There is no next life; they only ruin their well-being and shorten their already brief lives by deliberately making them bow before someone, which not only weakens their minds, taking away their logical reasoning ability, but also drains their energy, time, and money. 

The followers end up losing the opportunity nature has laid before them – this beautiful world to be explored, enjoyed, and lived. They aren’t able to live each moment of their present life; they only become zombies.

Before talking about Pope Leo, I must admit that I met Pope John Paul II in Pune in 1986 when he was in India from February 1 to 10, 1986. So, my observation is not a general view, but a specific view. And it applies to all religious leaders.

Now, to the main point: Pope Leo XIV appears to be a compassionate figure, distressed by the deaths, destruction, and uncertain future faced by thousands of innocent people caused by war. Forced to abandon their homes, they find no refuge in neighboring countries, as immigrants are not welcomed anywhere.

In such a scenario, once he makes a statement, it should not be interpreted as the Pope turning into a politician. 

I was astonished to see the US Vice President, at an event at the University of Georgia, question Leo’s call for peace by challenging his benchmark for a “morally justifiable” war. 

Leo deserves praise for voicing what the global community is feeling today. He represents those whose voices need to be heard.

In Cameroon, Pope Leo sharply escalated his feud with the White House over the US-Israel conflict with Iran, stating that the world is “ravaged by a handful of tyrants” who spend billions on war. He condemns world leaders who use religion to justify violence against other nations.

“Woe to those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth. They turn a blind eye to the fact that billions of dollars are spent on killing and devastation, yet the resources needed for healing, education, and restoration are nowhere to be found,” said the pontiff.

Some time back, the braggadocious Christian nationalist defense secretary Peter Brian Hegseth said, “When the pope says that God is never on the side of people who wield the sword, there is a more than 1,000-year tradition of just war theory.”

While commenting on this, Leo said that a constant tenet of that thousand-year tradition is that a nation can only legitimately take up the sword ‘in self-defense, once all peace efforts have failed’. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war. I continue to speak out strongly against war, seeking to promote peace, dialogue, and multilateralism among states to find solutions to problems.”

The Trump administration is very furious. In an apparent act of retaliation, it has ended funding for a Catholic church-based charity in Miami that shelters immigrant children, ending more than 60 years of a relationship.

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami said the White House had pulled a longstanding $11m contract from the Office of Refugee Resettlement for a program that provides specialized services to unaccompanied and undocumented minors detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

By selecting Pakistan’s regent prime minister and an army man without any credentials to negotiate with Iran, Donald Trump has demonstrated his knowledge of diplomacy, and the world leaders have also given him a certificate of this kind by not coming out to do what he desired.