“It’s Sickening”: U.S. Catholic Cardinal Blasts White House for Treating Iran War Like a Video Game
“A real war with real death and real suffering being treated like it’s a video game — it’s sickening."
This article originally appeared on Antiwar.com and was republished with permission.
Guest post by Dave DeCamp
Cardinal Blase Cupich, the Archbishop of Chicago, has called out the Trump administration for posting social media videos that splice scenes from movies and video games with footage of US strikes on Iran.
In a statement released by the Archdiocese of Chicago, Cupich referenced a video posted by the White House on Thursday, captioned “JUSTICE THE AMERICAN WAY,” that showed scenes from popular movies and TV series along with strike footage.
“A real war with real death and real suffering being treated like it’s a video game — it’s sickening. Hundreds of people are dead, mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, including scores of children who made the fatal mistake of going to school that day,” Cupich said, referencing the likely US strike on the Minab school in southern Iran, which massacred over 100 children.
“Six US soldiers have been killed. They are also dishonored by that social media post. Hundreds of thousands displaced, and many millions more are terrified across the Middle East,” Cupich added.
The Catholic leader said the “horrifying portrayal demonstrates that we now live in an era when the distance between the battlefield and the living room has been drastically reduced.” He also called out the “gamifying” of war and the new online trend of betting on conflicts.
“What a profound moral failure, for gamifying strips away the humanity of real people. Let’s not forget, a ‘hit’ isn’t putting points on the board; it’s a grieving family whose suffering we ignore when we prioritize entertainment, and profit, over empathy,” he said.
Cupich said that the US government is “treating the suffering of the Iranian people as a backdrop for our own entertainment, as if it’s just another piece of content to be swiped through while we’re waiting in line at the grocery store.”
Since the US and Israel launched the war on February 28, Pope Leo XIV, who was born in Chicago, has been urging for an end to the conflict. “Reports from [Iran] and across the entire [Middle East] continue to cause deep dismay and raise the fear that the conflict will expand, and that other countries in the region, including dear Lebanon, may once again sink into instability,” Leo wrote on X on Sunday.
“Let us [pray together] for the roar of bombs to cease, weapons to fall silent, and space to open for dialogue, in which people’s voices may be heard,” Leo added.
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Wow. The Catholic Church on the right side of an issue for once.
Make no mistake, the Church has been corrupted like every other global and corporate organization. The Pope gets his talking points just like everyone else.