White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said military leaders and the president urging prayers is “a very noble thing to do,” pushing back after Pope Leo XIV said God rejects prayers of leaders who wage war.
Leavitt, when asked March 30 by a reporter to respond to the pope’s statement that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” said: “I think our nation was a nation founded, 250 years ago almost, on Judeo-Christian values. And we’ve seen presidents, we’ve seen the leaders of the Department of War, and we’ve seen our troops go to prayer during the most turbulent times in our nation’s history.”
“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with our military leaders or with the president calling on the American people to pray for our service members and those who are serving our country overseas. In fact, I think it’s a very noble thing to do,” said Leavitt, who is Catholic.
“And if you talk to many service members, they will tell you they appreciate the prayers and support from the commander in chief and from his cabinet,” Leavitt said.
The pope, whose father served in the U.S. Navy on a D-Day tank landing ship, sharply condemned war in his Palm Sunday homily and said God cannot be used to justify war. He did not name specific leaders.
God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” Pope Leo said during Mass in St. Peter’s Square. The pope, who has repeatedly called for a ceasefire to war in the Middle East, presented Christ as the “King of Peace,” contrasting Jesus’ meekness with the violence surrounding him as he entered into his passion.
The pope tied the Church’s contemplation of Christ’s passion to the suffering of people in conflicts today, especially Christians in the Middle East.
The pope recalled: “When one of his disciples drew his sword to defend him… Jesus immediately stopped him, saying: ‘Put your sword back into its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.’”
Leavitt’s response also follows the opening of two lawsuits against the Departments of Defense and Labor by Americans United for Separation of Church and State regarding prayer services organized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer. Hegseth last week invoked Christian language and prayed for “overwhelming violence of action” against U.S. enemies.
The suits allege that the Christian prayer services abuse taxpayer resources, promote Christian nationalism, violate the separation of church and state, and pressure federal employees to participate.
U.S. communication with Israel
During the press conference, Leavitt also confirmed that the U.S. communicated with Israel after Israeli police prevented Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, and Father Francesco lelpo, custos of the Holy Land, from enter the Church of the Holy Sepulchre on Palm Sunday.
“I did speak with Secretary [Marco] Rubio this morning and we did express our concerns with Israel with respect to these holy sites being shut down,” Leavitt said.
“We want worshipers to be able to access these holy sites,” she said. “Of course, safety is a top priority, but we understand Israel is working on those security measures, to reopen the sites throughout Holy Week, and that’s something that we’re appreciative of,” she said.
