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ROME — <\/span>Pope Leo XIV on Sunday rejected claims that God justifies war<\/a> during a Palm Sunday Mass before tens of thousands of people in St. Peter\u2019s Square.<\/p>\n With the U.S.-Israeli war<\/a> on Iran entering its second month and Russia\u2019s ongoing campaign in Ukraine<\/a>, Leo dedicated his Palm Sunday homily to insist that God is the \u201cking of peace\u201d who rejects violence and comforts those who are oppressed.<\/p>\n \u201cBrothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,\u201d Leo said. \u201cHe does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.\u201d<\/p>\n Leaders on all sides of the Iran war have used religion to justify their actions. U.S. officials, especially Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, have invoked their Christian faith to cast the war as a Christian nation trying to vanquish its foes<\/a> with military might. <\/p>\n Russia’s Orthodox Church, too, has justified Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a \u201choly war\u201d<\/a> against a Western world it considers has fallen into evil.<\/p>\n Palm Sunday marks Jesus\u2019 triumphant entrance into Jerusalem in the time leading up to his crucifixion, which Christians observe on Good Friday, and resurrection on Easter Sunday.<\/p>\n Sunday’s celebration began with a procession of cardinals, bishops, priests and laypeople walking into the square carrying olive branches and palm fronds, some intricately braided. They stopped at the central obelisk, where Leo delivered an opening prayer, and then processed toward the altar to begin the Mass.<\/p>\n When Holy Week opened last year, Pope Francis was still recovering at the Vatican after a five-week hospital stay for double pneumonia. He had delegated the liturgical celebrations to others, but rallied on Easter Sunday<\/a> to greet the faithful from the loggia of St. Peter\u2019s Square. Most poignantly, he then made what became his final popemobile loop around the piazza.<\/p>\n Francis died the following morning<\/a>, Easter Monday, after suffering a stroke. His nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti<\/a>, later told Vatican Media that Francis had told him: \u201cThank you for bringing me back to the square\u201d for the final salute.<\/p>\n Leo is due to preside over this week\u2019s liturgical appointments and is returning to tradition with the Holy Thursday<\/a> feet-wash ceremony that commemorates Jesus\u2019 Last Supper with his disciples.<\/p>\n During his 12-year pontificate, Francis famously celebrated the Holy Thursday ritual by traveling to Rome-area prisons and refugee centers to wash the feet of people most on society\u2019s margins. His aim was to drive home the ritual\u2019s message of service and humility, and he would frequently muse during his Holy Thursday homilies \u201cWhy them and not me?\u201d<\/p>\n Francis\u2019 gesture had been praised as a tangible evidence of his belief that the church must go to the peripheries to find those most in need of God\u2019s love and mercy. But some critics bristled at the annual outings, especially since Francis would also wash the feet of Muslims and people of other faiths.<\/p>\n Leo, history\u2019s first U.S.-born pope, is returning the Holy Thursday foot-wash tradition to the basilica of St. John Lateran, where popes performed it for decades. The Vatican hasn\u2019t yet said who will participate, though Popes Benedict XVI and John Paul II normally washed the feet of 12 priests.<\/p>\n On Friday, Leo is due to preside over the Good Friday procession at Rome\u2019s Colosseum commemorating Christ\u2019s Passion and crucifixion. Saturday brings the late night Easter Vigil, during which Leo will baptize new Catholics, followed a few hours later by Easter Sunday when Christians commemorate the resurrection of Jesus.<\/p>\n Leo will celebrate Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter\u2019s Square and then deliver his Easter blessing from the loggia of the basilica.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n