The Young Pope’s Monologue:
“Brothers and sisters, let us speak of war—not as a distant shadow of history, but as a mirror reflecting the desires of men. In 1991, the world watched as the powerful descended upon the sands of Babylon. A coalition forged not by love, but by fear. They called it Desert Shield, a name that evokes protection, yet beneath its polished surface, it was a sword poised to strike.
George Herbert Walker Bush—history will call him a liberator. But I wonder, what does heaven call him? For in the guise of justice, he unleashed a storm upon a nation already burdened by its ancient sins and modern despots. Did he pray, I wonder, as the bombs fell like hailstones? Did he whisper the words of Psalm 91? ‘A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.’ Did he believe that he was the hand of God, striking down the wicked?
And yet, Psalm 92 follows. ‘The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree.’ But what of the unrighteous? What of those who covet the treasures of the earth—the oil, the black gold hidden beneath the cradle of civilization? The palm tree flourishes, but its roots drink deeply of the land. Did they see the oil not as a gift of creation, but as a prize to be claimed? Babylon, Iraq, a land of empires and exiles, became once more a battleground for ambition.
But here is the paradox, my friends: the rich oil they took cannot anoint them. It cannot consecrate their actions or cleanse their sins. It stains their hands and their hearts. Babylon has always been a lesson, a warning written in the ruins of ziggurats and the cries of the exiled. A kingdom built on pride, a tower reaching to heaven, and a people scattered by the weight of their arrogance.
So, I ask you, who are we in this story? Are we the righteous flourishing in the courts of the Lord? Or are we the architects of Babel, convinced of our invincibility, blind to the judgment that looms over us?
Pray for those who wield power, for they walk a narrow path. Pray for those who suffer, for they bear the weight of sins not their own. And pray for yourselves, that you may see the world not as men do, but as God does. For in the end, it is not shields or swords, nor oil or empires, that will endure. Only love remains. Only love.”
