They Are Thieves’: Pope Leo Unleashes Fiery Warning Against War and Nuclear Power on Chornobyl Anniversary
VATICAN CITY – On the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, Pope Leo delivered a blistering condemnation of war and resource exploitation, declaring that those who wage battles and plunder the earth are nothing less than thieves—robbing humanity of a peaceful future. Speaking to the faithful after the Angelus prayer on Sunday, the pontiff invoked the haunting memory of the 1986 catastrophe, calling it a permanent scar on the world’s collective conscience. As Ukraine commemorates four decades since the world’s worst nuclear accident—amid ongoing fears that Russia’s four-year-old war could trigger another such tragedy—the Pope issued a stark warning about the dangers of ever more powerful technologies. “It remains a warning over the use of ever more powerful technologies,” Leo said, urging leaders at every level to let wisdom and responsibility prevail. “I hope that atomic power can always be used to support life and peace,” he added, making clear that without moral restraint, the same energy that lights cities could also end them.
In a pointed riff on the day’s Gospel metaphor of a sheep thief, Pope Leo expanded the definition to include not just obvious criminals but also “superficial lifestyles driven by consumerism,” prejudices, and wrong ideas. Then came the sting: “And let’s not forget also those thieves who, by plundering the earth’s resources, by fighting bloody wars or feeding evil in whichever form, are simply taking away from all of us the chance of a future of peace and serenity.” The comment marks the latest escalation from Leo, the first U.S. pontiff, whose growing outspokenness against war and despotism has increasingly put him at odds with President Donald Trump. But on Sunday, standing in the shadow of Chornobyl’s grim anniversary, the Pope seemed undeterred—calling out warmongers not as geopolitical strategists, but as common thieves stealing something far more precious than land or treasure: tomorrow itself. As the world watches Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, Leo’s message landed with chilling clarity: peace is not just a hope—it is a inheritance, and those who wage war are robbing us blind.
