Pete Hegseth prayed to God for “overwhelming violence” at the Pentagon yesterday, then eliminated most of the faiths the military chaplaincy serves.
Pope Leo XIV already warned him that “God cannot be enlisted in darkness.” The head of the Episcopal Church expressed alarm. Senator Raphael Warnock, pastor of Martin Luther King’s church, rebuked him for platforming a preacher who wants America to be a Christian theocracy.
Their condemnations haven’t slowed him down. Hegseth has promised “no quarter, no mercy” for America’s enemies, a phrase the Pentagon’s own Law of War Manual classifies as a war crime. He told CBS that “the providence of our almighty God” protects American troops. Yesterday he prayed for “wicked souls delivered to eternal damnation,” then eliminated 169 religious designations from the military’s chaplaincy system.
Senator Mark Kelly and five other members of Congress were threatened just months ago for making a video reminding troops they have a duty to refuse illegal orders. Trump called it sedition, punishable by death. Hegseth tried to demote the combat veteran and astronaut and is still fighting him in court. Then he stood at a Pentagon podium and issued exactly the kind of order Kelly warned about. “No quarter” is a war crime. And it invites America’s enemies to treat us the same way. Call your representatives and demand Hegseth’s removal before he turns a devastating war into a generational crusade that endangers every American.
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