VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Warning against an increasingly unpredictable and aggressive “delusion of omnipotence” threatening the globe, Pope Leo XIV called on world leaders and individuals to empty their hearts and minds of hatred and violence and to start serving life. “Enough of the idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war! True strength is shown in serving life,” Pope Leo said during a special evening prayer vigil for peace in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, April 11. “Those who pray are aware of their own limitations; they do not kill or threaten with death,” he said. “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, to which they sacrifice every value, demanding that the whole world bend its knee.” “Let us listen to the voices of children,” who write to him all the time, recounting “all the horror and inhumanity of actions that some adults boast of with pride,” he said. The vigil, which drew thousands of people inside and outside the basilica, featured the recitation of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. Before each mystery was recited, women wearing traditional dress from countries representing the different continents of the world lit small lamps from a flame from the Lamp of Peace from Assisi that was placed below a statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace. CNS photo/Vatican MediaPope Leo XIV watches as the faithful, wearing clothing representing nations in the Americas, light a lamp below a statue of Our Lady Queen of Peace in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday, April 11, during a prayer vigil and the recitation of the Rosary for peace. Prayer can move mountains, Pope Leo said in his remarks in Italian. “War divides; hope unites. Arrogance tramples upon others; love lifts up. Idolatry blinds us; the living God enlightens.” With the help of prayer and God, people can help “break the demonic cycle of evil” and be at the service of the Kingdom of God, where there is “no sword, no drone, no vengeance, no trivialization of evil, no unjust profit, but only dignity, understanding and forgiveness,” Pope Leo said. “It is here that we find a bulwark against that delusion of omnipotence that surrounds us and is becoming increasingly unpredictable and aggressive,” he added. Speaking to the world’s leaders, the pope said, “Stop! It is time for peace! Sit at the table of dialogue and mediation, not at the table where rearmament is planned, and deadly actions are decided!” However, all the world’s people also have a duty to reject the violence in their own hearts and minds and help build a kingdom of peace each and every day in one’s own home, school and community, he said. “Let us believe once again in love, moderation and good politics,” he said, urging people to learn more and “get personally involved” in being part of “the mosaic of peace!” “Dear brothers and sisters, let us return home having made a commitment to pray without ceasing and without growing weary, a commitment to a profound conversion of heart,” the pope said. In Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, decried the U.S. conflict with Iran as “an immoral war” during a vigil Mass for peace at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on April 11, as he urged people to pray for peace and advocate with their government leaders and representatives for an end to that war. “Pope Leo has made it totally clear that the only pathway which Catholic teaching allows at this moment is the permanent cessation of hostilities and vigorous steps to build up the conditions for a lasting peace,” the cardinal said in his homily. In his homily at the vigil Mass for peace, Cardinal McElroy said, “We desperately ask our God, the Prince of Peace, to open the minds and hearts of all those in positions of power to look beyond their own interests and to see in its fullness the well-being of all those ensnared in this bitter and needless conflict.” Concluding his homily, Cardinal McElroy issued an impassioned plea for an end to the war against Iran, saying, “At that critical juncture, as disciples of Jesus Christ called to be peacemakers in the world, we must answer vocally and in unison: No. Not in our name. Not at this moment. Not with our country.” The post Pope Decries Horror, Inhumanity of War at Prayer Vigil for Peace appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less