Have to get up to go to work in about 2 or so hours.
It’s Divine Mercy Sunday.
Can’t help but think of the contrast between what the Pope and the President of the U.S. say publicly and socially about war and money and the various people who comment on what they say.
The controversy of the statement depends on what your worldview is.
I would think that waging war would be controversial to most faithful followers of Christ.
I would think that emphasizing peace and charity to the poor would not be controversial.
Fr. Joseph Krupp@Joeinblack (There’s a lot of accounts on X that claim to be Catholic and they treat the holy father’s words as if they’re just another opinion to be evaluated and judged. These are people you should avoid.
WAR
President Donald J. Trump () “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump wrote. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the BLEEPING’ Strait, you crazy BLEEPS bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.”
Pope Leo XIV@Pontifex (, 2026) God does not bless any conflict. 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. 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.
Valentina Gomez@ValentinaForUSA (, 2026) David didn’t pray for Goliath, he killed him. Stop with all the weak rhetoric. Useless pope.
Boston Matt @Mattman34 (, 2026) Wait, are people really losing their minds because the Holy Father prayed for and promoted….peace? Really?
Joshua Hicks ��@BoazOnTrail (Apr 10, 2026) Christians will continue to suffer unless Islam is fought back into their caves. I don’t mean this to condone conflict in Iran, but Christians need liberated from evil all over the world. We sell our cloak and buy a sword to defend against the invasion
Jenny@JennyDH12 (} They’re losing their minds because they know the Holy Father is influential, and he’s putting a damper on their Orc-like enthusiasm for bloodshed.
The Second Vatican Council, in the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, affirms that: “Insofar as men are sinful, the threat of war hangs over them, and hang over them it will until the return of Christ. But insofar as men vanquish sin by a union of love, they will vanquish violence as well” (no. 78). This is the context in which the mission of the Christian soldier is situated. Defending the weak, protecting peaceful coexistence, intervening in disasters, operating in international missions to preserve peace and restore order. All this cannot be reduced to a mere profession: it is a vocation, a response to a call that challenges the conscience. The soldier’s identity is forged by generosity, a spirit of service, high aspirations and deep feelings. But these values require a foundation, a gift of Grace capable of fostering charity to the point of total self-sacrifice. It is therefore necessary to inspire the codes, norms and missions of military life with the lifeblood of the Gospel so that, in the service of security and peace, the common good of peoples is always the first priority. –To Participants in the events promoted by the Military Ordinariate for Italy (Ordinariato Militare per l’Italia) (7 March 2026)
Moni �@MoniFunGirl (} As a Catholic, I am not happy with yet another “woke” political Pope.
Hate to say it but I’m ignoring him. Until we get a Pope that isn’t political, so be it.
I don’t pray to the Pope, I pray to God. @Pontifex
Fr. Dwight Longenecker@dlongenecker1 () I have found that when the pope approves of something that my political side does I’m happy for him to be political. When he criticizes my political side I think he should not be political.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.
THREATS OF WAR
President Donald J. Trump (April 7, 2026) A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have Complete and Total Regime Change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS? We will find out tonight, one of the most important moments in the long and complex history of the World. 47 years of extortion, corruption, and death, will finally end. God Bless the Great People of Iran!
Pope Leo XIV@Pontifex (April 11, 2026) Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death. Instead, death enslaves those who have turned their backs on the living God, turning themselves and their own power into a mute, blind and deaf idol (Ps 115:4–8), to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee. Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life. #Peace
HVY-METAL@thehvymetal () Pope Leo XIV is concerned more about appeasing Islam than he is about defending Christendom. His weakness is dangerous. Put on the full armor of God and be ready for battle.
James Lynch@jameslynch795 () Holy Father, as a Buddhist Minister, I cannot thank you enough for your position on Peace and Compassion in a world that cries out to us to love as Jesus commands.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.
MONEY
Fr. Dwight Longenecker@dlongenecker1 (, 2026) Pope speaks out against war and in favor of helping the poor and Christian American right wingers throw stones. I’m standing with the Pope.
The Trump administration is planning to reroute $15 million from the National Endowment for the Humanities to fund a massive arch Donald Trump wants to build on the National Mall.
A newly released spending plan shared by the Office of Management and Budget database this week revealed for the first time Donald Trump’s intention to use taxpayers’ dollars to fund “Independence Arch.“
Pope Leo XIV@Pontifex (, 2026) Hundreds of millions of people throughout the world are immersed in extreme poverty. Yet, disproportionate wealth remains in the hands of a few. It is an unjust scenario, in the face of which we cannot fail to question ourselves and commit to change things. There is no lack of resources at the root of disparities, but the need to address solvable problems related to a more equitable distribution of wealth, to be achieved with moral sense and honesty.
Hunter’s art dealer@10percent4mrbig ( 2026) Capitalism has lifted more people out of poverty than any other system. Socialism has enslaved and impoverished more than any other. The Pope speaks as a socialist.
Carolina ❤️�@realCarola2Hope (Apr 11, 2026)
Pope Leo XIV is not ‘woke’, nor a Marxist, nor a progressive, nor a leftist.
The Pope is simply a Christian.
When he defends the poor and the innocent, he is following the Gospel.
When he denounces injustice, he is imitating Christ.
When he speaks for the poor, he is repeating word for word the Sermon on the Mount.
Those who are angry at him are not fighting with Pope Leo XIV.
They are fighting with Christ.
Because it was Jesus who said: ‘Whatever you did for the least of my brothers, you did for me.’
Rejecting the Pope for being merciful is not something a Christian does.
The problem is not that Leo XIV has strayed from Christ.
The problem is that some have strayed so far from the Gospel that they no longer recognize it when they see it.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.
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