The Pope just told Pete Hegseth that God isn’t listening to his prayers. On Palm Sunday. In front of tens of thousands of people.

Last week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stood in front of military and civilian workers in Washington and prayed for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.” He asked God to “let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness.”

On Sunday, the Pope answered him.

Standing in St. Peter’s Square before tens of thousands of worshippers, Pope Leo said God ignores the prayers of leaders who wage war.

“He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” Then he quoted scripture directly: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.”

He didn’t say Hegseth’s name. He didn’t have to.

The Pope called the Iran war “atrocious.” He said Jesus “rejects war” and that no one can use him to justify it. He described a God who “always rejects violence” and a Christ who chose the cross over the sword.

This is the first American Pope in history. And on the holiest week of the Christian calendar, with US troops arriving in the Middle East and the Pentagon preparing for ground operations, he looked at what this administration is doing in the name of faith and said: God wants no part of it.

Hegseth is a member of a church whose founder identifies as a Christian nationalist. He has made his faith a centerpiece of his role at the Pentagon. He prays publicly for violence. He frames war as righteous. He wraps mass destruction in scripture and calls it holy.

The Pope just told essentially the world: “this is not Christianity, this is blasphemy with a uniform on.”

Christians in the Middle East may not be able to celebrate Easter this year because of this war. The Pope knows it. Hegseth doesn’t care. He’s too busy praying for bullets to find their targets.

“Your hands are full of blood.” You cannot make a more powerful condemnation than that.