Pope Leo has sharply increased his criticism of the conflict, warning that a 'delusion of omnipotence' is driving the US and Israeli involvement in Iran. The Pope began making strong public statements about the war's origins starting around Palm Sunday.

In the first weeks of the war, the Chicago-born Leo was initially reluctant to publicly condemn the violence and limited his comments to muted appeals for peace and dialogue. But Leo stepped up his criticism starting on Palm Sunday. <img alt="Pope Leo XIV leads a vigil for peace inside St. Peter" src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/8640x5760+0+0/resize/8640x5760!/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fe2%2F75%2Fa4c125a5427fb833e52cc474f4d2%2Fap261015970...