Pope Leo XIV called for hope against "the violence of war that kills and destroys" amid global conflicts during his first Easter Mass as pontiff on Sunday (April 5).

Leo, the first U.S.-born pope in history, addressed worshippers from an open-air altar in St. Peter's Square and called for hope in the face of death, which he said lurks “in injustices, in partisan selfishness, in the oppression of the poor, in the lack of attention given to the most vulnerable" amid the United States and Israel's war with Iran and Russia's yearslong invasion of Ukraine.

“We see it in violence, in the wounds of the world, in the cry of pain that rises from every corner because of the abuses that crush the weakest among us, because of the idolatry of profit that plunders the earth’s resources, because of the violence of war that kills and destroys,” he said via the New York Post.

Leo quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, who died on Easter Morning in 2025 after suffering from a stroke, warning worshippers against falling into indifference to “persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty,” because “it is also true that in the midst of darkness, something new always springs to life and sooner or later produces fruit."

Last week, Pope Leo rejected claims that God justifies war during his Palm Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square last week.

“Brothers and sisters, this is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” Leo said via the Associated Press. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them."

Iranian officials vowed to escalate the ongoing war with the United States and Israel amid President Donald Trump's threat to increase air strikes and hijack Tehran's oil, the New York Post reports. Trump warned that Iran had until Monday (April 6) to accept his proposed peace deal or he would consider “blowing everything up and taking over the oil" via FOX News.

Trump also shared a tirade against Iran and appeared to mock the praising Allah, the Arabic term for the one, supreme, and universal God in Islam, while telling the regime to "open the f**kin" Strait of Hormuz or he'd ensure the Islamic Republic's leaders end up in hell in a Truth Social post shared on Easter Sunday.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F**kin’ Strait, you crazy b*****ds, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP."

Armstrong & Getty