JOHN HEAGLE, [email protected]
Heagle is chair of Priests Against Genocide USA. He is the author of Justice Rising (Orbis 2010).
He wrote last month in Independent Catholic News: “Italian priests took to the streets in Rome and other cities in late September 2025 under the banner Preti Contro il Genocidio (Priests Against Genocide). Since then, the movement has expanded rapidly, now including more than 2,200 priests-among them, bishops and cardinals-in over 54 countries.” See report from Catholic World News.
Priests Against Genocide USA recently issued a statement which “welcomes and affirms the recent moral appeal issued by Pope Leo, who, in remarks to reporters at the Vatican, called on ‘all people of goodwill to search always for peace and not violence, to reject war,’ and urged citizens worldwide to contact their political leaders and congressmen and demand an end to escalating and unjust conflict. In direct response to this call, Priests Against Genocide USA is urging immediate public action to prevent further U.S. complicity in violence in the Middle East.
“Drawing on background provided by Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), we highlight two critical resolutions introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders:
• A resolution to block the $151.8 million sale of 12,000 1,000-pound bombs to Israel
• A resolution to block the $295 million transfer of D9 Caterpillar bulldozers to Israel
“These weapons and machines have well-documented impacts on civilian populations. The 1,000-pound bombs are commonly used in airstrikes in densely populated areas, often resulting in devastating civilian casualties. The Caterpillar bulldozers are used in urban warfare and in the demolition of Palestinian and Lebanese homes, displacing thousands of families.”
See from February: “Priests Against Genocide call on World Bank to suspend participation in ‘Board of Peace’“