The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem has issued a stark warning against the use of religious language to justify conflict in the Middle East.
Speaking during a webinar organised by the Oasis Foundation, Cardinal Pizzaballa said that invoking God in support of military action risks turning religion into a tool of political interest. “The abuse and manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit at this time,” he said.
He added that war “is first and foremost political and has very material interests, like most wars”, urging believers to resist narratives that cloak violence in religious meaning.
