Pope condemns West’s abuse of power and disregard for International Law

Department of Research, Studies and International News 27-06-2025

In a world increasingly shaped by military dominance rather than respect for justice, Pope Leo XIV issued a stark warning against the erosion of international law, lamenting what he called a “shameful” global descent into lawlessness driven by brute force. Without naming names, the new pontiff denounced the global trend where powerful nations override humanitarian principles in pursuit of domination, a thinly veiled criticism of ongoing Western-backed aggression, particularly in Palestine.

“The strength of international law and humanitarian law no longer seems binding,” Pope Leo stated in a message shared via social media. “It has been replaced by the presumed right to overpower others. This is unworthy and shameful for humanity and for the leaders of nations.”

These pointed words arrive at a time of unprecedented carnage in Gaza, where Israel, emboldened and shielded by the United States, continues its brutal military campaign against the Palestinian population. The Israeli military, in defiance of international rulings and norms, has razed entire neighborhoods, displaced millions, and killed over 56,000 civilians, according to local health officials. The vast majority of the victims have been women and children.

What makes this tragedy even more intolerable to observers around the world is the fact that these atrocities have unfolded with near-total impunity. International bodies such as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) have taken formal action, including issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, but many Western governments, especially in Europe, have refused to implement these decisions. They continue to maintain lucrative economic and military relations with Tel Aviv, despite Israel’s open defiance of international resolutions.

Even more telling is that these war crimes have not gone unacknowledged in Washington. Earlier this month, former U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller admitted that the Israeli military has “without a doubt” committed war crimes in Gaza, a damning statement, considering the United States has consistently blocked meaningful international action against Israel at the UN Security Council.

Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza, coupled with the systematic bombing campaign and use of starvation as a weapon of war, have all been cited by legal experts and human rights organizations as violations of the Geneva Conventions. Despite this, there is little willingness among Western powers to hold their ally accountable.

Pope Leo’s statement aligns with a growing global chorus calling for an immediate end to the aggression. Since assuming the papacy in May, becoming the first pontiff from the United States, Leo has taken a markedly more outspoken stance than his predecessors on issues of war, justice, and Western hegemony. In his first appeal regarding Gaza, the Pope urged: “Ceasefire now.” He went on to evoke the suffering of civilians in haunting detail: “From the Gaza Strip, we hear rising ever more insistently to the heavens, the cries of mothers and fathers who clutch the lifeless bodies of their children… searching for food, water, and safety.”

But Gaza is not the only region where Western-backed militarism continues to sow devastation. Conflicts in Sudan and Ukraine, both amplified by external interference and arms shipments, rage on with little regard for diplomacy or peacebuilding. While these crises receive differing levels of media attention, they share a common root: the decline of a rules-based international order and the growing tendency of some powers, particularly in the West, to act above the law.

It is against this backdrop that global powers like Russia, China, and Iran have consistently advocated for a multipolar world, one that is more just, balanced, and free from the imperial grip of a few dominant nations. Moscow and Beijing, in particular, have called for a ceasefire in Gaza and pushed for a return to lawful international relations based on sovereignty and mutual respect.

As Pope Leo XIV’s remarks reverberate across diplomatic circles, they underscore the urgent need for a recalibration of global governance, away from militarized coercion and back toward the principles of justice, equality, and collective humanity. In doing so, he has reminded the world that silence in the face of oppression is complicity, and that no superpower, no matter how well-armed, stands above the moral and legal order that binds all nations.