Pete Hegseth v The Pope

Enthused by a lightning operation in Venezuela, embroiled in a war-without-end over Iran and already considering the next sequel in Cuba, might thirsty US war secretary Pete Hegseth be considering another target: the Vatican?

The parched politico is reported to be less than happy with comments from Pope Leo about leaders with “hands full of blood”, thought to be a rebuke to Hegseth after he led a blood-and-thunder prayer service at the Pentagon calling for “overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy”.

Hegseth, a Christian with a robust interpretation of the Bible’s teachings, called for violence during a prayer he said originated from a military chaplain in a service held before military and civilian workers.

“Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation,” Hegseth said in the service. “Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”

The unorthodox remarks came just a day after Hegseth announced changes to the military’s chaplain corps, which he claimed had been “infected by political correctness and secular humanism” until they were “watered down” to be “nothing more than therapists” who focused more on “self-help and self-care” than faith.

Hegseth is a member of a church affiliated with the Congregation of Reformed Evangelical Churches, a fringey group of Christian nationalists founded by Doug Wilson, a self-described “paleo-Confederate” with some off-centre views on slavery.

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Rats in a Sack

His actions have now earned a public rebuke from the Pontiff himself, who used his Palm Sunday mass in St Peter’s Square to say the conflict between Iran, Israel and the US was “atrocious” and that Jesus could not be used to justify war.

“This is our God: Jesus, king of peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war,” he told tens of thousands of worshippers. “He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.” Quoting a Bible passage, Leo added: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood.” Whoever could he mean?

Meanwhile, in matters more secular, Hegseth is also facing questions about how on earth his broker might have attempted to make a big investment in major defence companies in the weeks leading up to the US-Israeli attack on Iran.

The Financial Times reports today that Hegseth’s broker at Morgan Stanley contacted BlackRock in February about making a multimillion-dollar investment in the asset manager’s Defense Industrials Active ETF (Exchange Traded Fund), shortly before the US launched military action against Tehran.

According to the FT, the $3.2bn equity fund pursues “growth opportunities by investing in companies that may benefit from increased government spending on defense and security amid geopolitical fragmentation and economic competition”.

What an incredible coincidence! Rats in a Sack seems to recall from school RE lessons that Jesus Christ had one or two thoughts about merchants and consumers turning a temple into a den of thieves, but hopefully Hegseth can delve into it more when he leads his next prayer service.