Tell Congress: Stop the Pentagon from threatening the Church into blessing this war

Reporting from The Free Press -- independently confirmed by the newsletter Letters from Leo -- revealed that in January, Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby summoned Cardinal Christophe Pierre, who at the time was Pope Leo XIV's ambassador to the United States, to a closed-door meeting at the Pentagon.

Colby's message: "America has the military power to do whatever it wants in the world. The Catholic Church had better take its side."

According to the same reporting, a U.S. official invoked the Avignon Papacy -- the 14th-century episode when the French Crown forced the Pope out of Rome at military gunpoint. The Pope canceled his planned visit to the United States.

The Pope had called this "an unjust war." He called Trump's threat to destroy Iranian civilization "truly unacceptable." He told American Catholics to contact their members of Congress and demand peace.

The Pentagon's response was to summon his ambassador and warn the Church to get in line.

As of the time of writing, more than 2,076 people have been killed in Iran -- including at least 212 children and 13 American service members. On April 9, House Republicans blocked Democrats from even forcing a war powers vote. The House doesn't formally reconvene until April 14.

As Christians walking the way of Jesus -- who said "put your sword back in its place" -- we will not stay silent while the Pentagon threatens the Church into blessing an unjust war.

It's up to all of us to stand together and say loudly -- not in our name.

Tell Congress: Stop the Pentagon from threatening the Church into blessing this war