Jesus told us, blessed are the peacemakers, but woe to those who manipulate religion in the

very name of God for their own military, economic or political gain, dragging that which

is sacred into darkness and filth. The masters of war pretend not to know that it takes only a moment to destroy.

Yet often, a lifetime is often not enough to rebuild. The world is being ravaged by a handful of

tyrants. It is held together by a multitude of supportive brothers and sisters.

Pope Leo yesterday in Africa, calling out tyrants and those who manipulate religion.

While he didn't mention any person by name, many are reading between the lines,

speculating his comments could be about the president,

or possibly Defense Secretary Pete Hankseth, who has repeatedly used religious rhetoric

to justify the war in Iran. But this week, he seems to have confused scripture with a movie script.

We'll dig into all of that.

The president, meanwhile, continues to present his own version of the state of the economy.

Insisting yesterday that gas prices are not that high, those comments come as new polling shows,

most Americans blame him for their pain at the pump.

Good morning and welcome to Morning Joe. It is Friday, April 17th. Good to have you all with us this morning,

along with Joe, Willie and me. We have the co-host of our 9 a.m. hour, staff writer at the Atlantic,

Jonathan Lemire, President Emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations our 9 a.m. hour, staff writer at the Atlantic, Jonathan Lemire,

President Humbertus of the Council on Foreign Relations, Richard Haas,

and co-host of the weekend, a Washington reporter for MS now.

Jackie Alamini joins us this morning.

Joe, I thought the Pope's comments were right on the mark.

Well, I mean, if you...

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