'God does not bless any conflict': Pope Leo speaks out over 'military action' in apparent swipe at Trump

The pontiff released a statement on X where he condemned the US and Israeli actions in the Middle east, stating that "no cause can justify the shedding of innocent blood".

"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," the Pope wrote.

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"Military action will not create space for freedom or times of peace, which comes only from the patient promotion of coexistence and dialogue among peoples."

He did not name the US leader or the country itself directly, but did reference the "inhuman violence is spreading ferociously through the sacred places of the Christian East".

It is not the first time Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pontiff, has criticised the US president over the war on Iran.

In January, he denounced what he called "diplomacy based on force" and in his Easter blessing he urged "those who have the power to unleash wars" to "choose peace."

Following these comments, reports emerged that the Vatican's US envoy was summoned to the Pentagon in January for a "bitter" dressing down by the Trump Administration.

The Pentagon and Vatican envoys both denied such meeting ever took place.

A month later, Pope Leo further criticised America's military action in Iran, condemning the strikes on February 28 s "illegal and immoral" during his Sunday Angelus prayer.

"Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace. Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue. Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them,” the pope implored.

Pope Leo XIV also acknowledged a sense of indifference “to the deaths of thousands of people ... to the repercussions of hatred and division that conflicts sow (and) to the economic and social consequences they produce".

The Pope did welcome the US-Iranian ceasefire that was signed on Wednesday and urged for a diplomatic solution to the war.

Away from the ongoing war, Leo has also criticised the US government for its treatment of migrants as "Inhuman".

Mr Trump is yet to comment on the Pope’s remarks, but sources say he is unhappy with the continued criticism from the head of the Catholic Church.