Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has sharply criticized US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth for invoking God and scripture to justify the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran. Responding to Hegseth’s use of Psalm 144 and talk of “almighty God” protecting troops, Pizzaballa labeled such rhetoric the “gravest sin,” calling it a manipulation of God’s name to mask political and material interests. He firmly rejected any notion of a modern “crusade,” stating that if God is present in the conflict, it is among the suffering and oppressed. The Cardinal also drew attention to the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, describing a population living in sewage with no reconstruction underway.

He lamented that the broader war has overshadowed this enduring tragedy, which remains locked in a political stalemate.

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