The Pope declared that God “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war,” rejecting them outright because “your hands are full of blood.”
Yet Scripture tells a far different story.
The God of the Bible doesn’t blanket-condemn every warrior’s cry. He hears the prayers of those who fight with justice in their hearts.
King David, the man after God’s own heart was the warrior who slew Goliath and led armies into battle. He wrote with bold gratitude: “Blessed be the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle” (Psalm 144:1). Moses, after the victory over Pharaoh’s forces at the Red Sea, sang of the Almighty: “The Lord is a man of war; the Lord is His name” (Exodus 15:3). These were not fringe figures. They were central to God’s redemptive story.
The papacy’s sudden pacifist absolutism feels like convenient modern revisionism; a drift into contemporary leftism that erases its own blood-stained history. For over a millennium, popes didn’t just tolerate war; they actively called for it, launched it and sometimes led it.
Popes Who Championed the Crusades and Holy War
Several pontiffs proclaimed Crusades to reclaim the Holy Land, combat heresy or defend Christendom often through papal bulls promising indulgences, spiritual rewards and calls to arms:
- Urban II (1088–1099): Launched the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont in 1095, urging Christians to take Jerusalem from Muslim control.
- Eugenius III, Gregory VIII and Innocent III continued the tradition, calling for the Second, Third and Fourth Crusades, plus the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathar (whom they unjustly labeled heretics) in France.
- Later popes like Gregory IX, Innocent IV and others supported expeditions against Mongols, Ottomans, and internal foes.
Some didn’t just preach, they actually fought; seems Leo forgot about these:
- Leo IX personally commanded troops against Normans.
- Julius II (1503–1513), the “Warrior Pope,” rode into battle to reclaim Papal States territories and even founded the Swiss Guard.
The Church has long recognized the concept of just war: defensive, proportionate conflict against grave evil when all peaceful options fail. That tradition didn’t vanish because today’s headlines demand a different narrative.
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The Papal record grows darker when we turn to moral scandals. Early popes operated before strict celibacy rules, and many faced credible accusations of fathering children, adultery or worse:
- Popes like Felix III, Hormisdas, and Adrian II were married or widowed with families.
- Later figures such as Alexander VI (Borgia) openly acknowledged illegitimate children amid notorious nepotism and mistresses.
- John XII, Benedict IX, and others were accused of turning the papal palace into a den of debauchery, incest and orgies.
Popes also authorized the persecution and execution of Protestants and reformers. John Huss was burned at the stake. William Tyndale met the same fate. These were not aberrations in a vacuum; they reflected an era when the papacy wielded both spiritual and temporal swords, sometimes with brutal force.
Closer to the Crusades, Innocent III supported the Albigensian Crusade. When his legate reported the horrific 1209 massacre at Béziers; where nearly 20,000 people, including women and children, were slaughtered indiscriminately, the pope echoed language of “divine vengeance” and “miraculous” victory rather than condemning the excess. Only later did he rebuke overreach for seizing non-heretical lands, not the civilian bloodshed itself.
This is the institution now claiming God turns a deaf ear to every warrior’s prayer.
Christians are being slaughtered today in Nigeria, across parts of Africa and the Middle East, often with little outcry from the Vatican. Yet when the United States and allies strike against the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, a regime that has chanted “Death to America” for nearly 50 years, funds proxies who murder innocents and threatens global stability; the Pope finds his voice to grandstand.
There is a profound difference between righteous war and unrighteous aggression. Scripture, history and moral reason affirm that defending the innocent, resisting existential evil and neutralizing threats to civilization can be a tragic necessity, not a blanket rejection by Heaven. David’s sling, Moses’ staff and the just defenders of the faith across centuries testify that God does hear prayers born of justice, not bloodlust.
The elimination of a tyrannical regime that has exported terror, taken hostages and vowed destruction is not warmongering. For many, it represents the overdue stand of a free people against darkness.
Truth matters more than institutional image. God is not a pacifist mascot for any age’s politics. He is the Lord of hosts mighty in battle when righteousness demands it. Let the Church remember its own history before rewriting divine character to fit the spirit of the age.
God is using President Trump to execute vengeance upon the evil doer in accordance with Romans 13:4 and nothing is more America first than the elimination of the very nation that called for its death for 49 years.
If you want to learn more about the spiritual forces at work make sure you order my newest book: ‘Defeating Darkness: A Handbook For Spiritual Warfare & Overcoming Demonic Schemes’ & be sure to check out my recent podcast episode on this very subject. https://youtu.be/KI_8ZsCvfGU
Bishop Chad MacDonald is the founder of Revival Fire World Ministries and carries an international apostolic mantle. He is a prophetic voice, revivalist, and author. He has also served as an adjunct professor for New Life Bible College and Norvel Hayes Ministries. With a powerful anointing that will change your life, Chad travels extensively throughout the United States and internationally. His meetings are marked by the tangible presence of God and accompanied by powerful deliverances, signs, and wonders. His heart burns to see a return to true Pentecostal power and to see the body of Christ equipped to carry the glory of God. He is the host of Voice of Revival TV and podcast. He is a graduate of World Harvest Bible College (Valor Christian College) and an ordained bishop in the City Harvest Network under the direction of Dr. Rod Parsley. A devoted husband, father of seven, and proud “Pappy” to three grandchildren, he calls Tennessee home.
