Pope Leo XIV at Monaco stadium Mass: Wars are 'the result of the idolatry of power and money'
Pope Leo XIV stated during a Mass in Monaco that wars result from the "idolatry of power and money." The pontiff urged the faithful not to become accustomed to the sounds and images of ongoing conflicts. During his homily at the Louis II Stadium, the Pope connected modern conflicts to the biblical decision by the Sanhedrin to kill Jesus, driven by attachment to power. Leo XIV emphasized that political calculations based on fear often lead to the elimination of innocent people.
2 days ago
Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at Monaco's Louis II Stadium on March 28, 2026, concluding an eight-hour visit invited by Prince Albert II.1 2
The stadium, with over 18,000 capacity, hosted cheering faithful waving Vatican and Monaco flags as the pope arrived by golf cart.1 2
The pope condemned wars as the "result of the idolatry of power and money," which "bloody" God's grace.1 2
He urged the faithful: "Let’s not get used to the rumble of weapons or the images of war," calling every truncated life a wound to Christ's body.1 2
Drawing from the Sanhedrin's plot against Jesus, Leo XIV highlighted Caiaphas' fear-driven verdict rooted in attachment to power.1 2
He asked: "Isn’t that what happens today?" noting modern calculations to kill innocents with false reasons.1 2
Peace is "not a mere balance of forces" but from purified hearts seeing others as brothers, not enemies.1 2
God's omnipotence is mercy, saving the world by embracing life from conception to old age, transforming power into service.1 2
On Holy Week's eve, the pope invoked Jeremiah, promising to turn mourning into joy amid injustices and wars.1 2
He called for witnessing hope through charity: love for fragile, young, old, healthy, and sick life.1 2
Archbishop Dominique-Marie David thanked Leo XIV for confirming faith and sustaining hope against challenges.1 2
The pope gifted a sculpture of St. Francis of Assisi, symbolizing peace with a dove and open hand.1 2
Wars arise from the idolatry of power and money
Catholic teaching roots the critique of idolatry in Scripture, portraying it as a fundamental rejection of God's lordship, often manifesting in the worship of created things like wealth or power. The Book of Deuteronomy warns that forgetting God amid prosperity leads to serving other gods, resulting in destruction akin to that of conquered nations: "Do not say to yourself, 'My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.' But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth... If you do forget the Lord your God and follow other gods... you shall surely perish." Similarly, Jeremiah curses those who trust in human strength over God, likening unjust wealth accumulation to a partridge hatching foreign eggs, which ultimately proves foolish. Ecclesiastes laments riches hoarded to one's harm, emphasizing that true enjoyment comes as God's gift, not human toil divorced from Him. In the New Testament, Jesus starkly declares, "No slave can serve two masters... You cannot serve God and wealth," underscoring wealth's idolatrous pull, which the Pharisees—lovers of money—ridiculed.
These texts frame idolatry not merely as pagan worship but as elevating creatures (e.g., money, power) above the Creator, leading to moral and societal ruin.
The Magisterium consistently identifies money and power as modern "golden calves," echoing Exodus and diverting humanity from its divine end. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines idolatry as "divinizing what is not God," including "power, pleasure... the state, money," incompatible with communion with God. Pope Benedict XVI, in his 2008 Paris homily, asked if the modern world has created idols like money, possessions, power, or knowledge, which turn people from eternal joy with God, citing St. Paul: insatiable greed is idolatry. Pope Francis amplifies this in Evangelii Gaudium: "The worship of the ancient golden calf has returned... in the idolatry of money and the dictatorship of an impersonal economy lacking a truly human purpose," reducing man to consumption amid financial crises. He reiterates in his 2020 address: "Once the economy loses its human face... we are no longer served by money, but ourselves become servants of money," invoking Jesus' temple cleansing and warning against mammon. Pope John Paul II challenged youth to reject idols of wealth, consumerism, power-as-domination, and pleasure, which destroy love and hinder following Christ. The Vocation of the Business Leader warns of fragmentation leading to idolatry, where profit maximization, unchecked technology, or personal influence supplants the common good.
Power's idolatry parallels money's, as both foster "insatiable greed" and "thirst for possessions," alienating from truth about self and God.
While not every war stems directly from idolatry, Catholic sources trace unjust wars to sinful human choices, including idolatrous pursuits of aggrandizement, glory, or dominance—extensions of power and money worship. Classical just war theorists like Aquinas, Vitoria, and Suarez allowed "offensive" wars for restitution or punishment but excluded those for "national aggrandizement (enlargement of empire or the glory of the prince), racist or ethnic dominance, or the propagation of religion," requiring prior harm of egregious sort. Scholastics viewed war's condition as evil (malum poenae and malum culpae), with at least one side always wrong, rejecting any glorification. Contemporary Magisterium restricts just cause to defense alone, excluding restitution/punishment as "offensive," amid nuclear-era proportionality: "In this age... it no longer makes sense to maintain that war is a fit instrument with which to repair the violation of justice." Pius XII ruled out national honor as cause, and successors emphasize war's sinfulness as a "state or condition of mutual conflict."
Just peace critiques argue war's inevitability assumes fallenness necessitating coercion, but idolatry exacerbates it by prioritizing order via violence over consent-based justice. Idolatrous money/power fuels "raison d'état," provoking conflicts for profit or dominance, as popes decry: neoliberalism's "idolatry of money" wreaks havoc via speculation. Wars for empire or glory mirror biblical warnings against trusting "mere flesh" or amassing unjust wealth, leading to perdition.
Reichberg's analysis finds no doctrinal rupture but shifts in emphasis: classical theory permitted limited offensive force reactively, with proportionality (e.g., assurance of victory, charity moderating rights); modern teaching heightens ad bellum proportionality due to technology, urging reluctance: "The prince should only accede to the necessity of war when he is dragged reluctantly but inevitably into it." Discontinuities (e.g., excluding honor/punitive wars) respond to abuses rooted in idolatry, not rejection of defensive justice. Thus, while idolatry of power/money births unjust wars, legitimate defense remains morally warranted, though war's evil demands aversion.
Pope Leo XIV's recent messages, while focused on dialogue and economy, align by promoting peace via human dignity over division.
Catholic teaching exhorts rejecting idols for peace: business leaders must avoid "golden calves"; all must prioritize common good over mammon. Contemporary proportionality trumps even just causes if disproportionate, fostering "just peace" beyond coercion.
In summary, wars indeed often arise from idolatry of power and money, as these distort justice into aggression, per Scripture and Magisterium. Yet defensive wars retain moral space under strict criteria, calling Catholics to prophetic witness against sin's roots.