Hegseth Reads Fake 'Pulp Fiction' Bible Verse at Pentagon, Calls Press 'Pharisees' — Pope Leo Responds Within the Hour

The Defense Secretary led a Pentagon prayer using a speech from a 1994 Tarantino movie, then compared journalists to enemies of Jesus. Pope Leo XIV fired back on X before the briefing room even cleared out.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made headlines twice in two days this week. On Wednesday, he read a fake Bible verse at a Pentagon worship service. On Thursday, he compared American journalists to the Pharisees — the people who opposed Jesus in the New Testament.

Both events are part of a bigger pattern. Since taking office, Hegseth has woven religious language into military operations. He holds monthly prayer sessions at the Pentagon. He has framed the U.S. war in Iran in religious terms. And his critics say he is blurring the line between church and state in ways the country hasn't seen in decades.

What Happened at the Prayer Service

On Wednesday, April 15, Hegseth stood before a large group at a Pentagon worship service. He talked about the recent rescue of two Air Force crew members shot down over Iran. He said a military planner gave him a prayer that rescue crews had recited before the mission.

Hegseth called the prayer "CSAR 25:17" — short for Combat Search and Rescue 25:17. He told the crowd it was "meant to reflect Ezekiel 25:17," a real verse from the Bible. Then he asked everyone to pray with him and began reading.

There was a problem. The words Hegseth read were not from the Bible. They were from Quentin Tarantino's 1994 movie Pulp Fiction.

The religion and politics blog A Public Witness was the first to spot the connection. It quickly went viral. A side-by-side video comparing Hegseth's prayer to Samuel L. Jackson's speech racked up millions of views on X. Reddit posts about it earned over 22,000 upvotes.

Side-by-Side: The Three Versions

As the table shows, Hegseth's prayer swapped a few words — "downed aviator" instead of "righteous man," "camaraderie and duty" instead of "charity and good will" — but the structure is taken directly from the movie, not the Bible. The actual Bible verse is just one sentence.

The Pentagon's Response

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell defended Hegseth on Thursday. He acknowledged the prayer was "obviously inspired" by the movie's dialogue. But Parnell argued that both the movie speech and the CSAR prayer reflect the real Ezekiel 25:17. He called anyone who said Hegseth misquoted scripture "fake news."

That defense raised eyebrows. The movie version is over 80 words long. The real verse is about 25 words. Most of what Jackson says in the film was made up for the screen.

The Pharisees Comparison

The very next morning — Thursday, April 16 — Hegseth held a press briefing about the Iran war. About five minutes in, he turned his attention away from military operations and toward the reporters in the room.

He told the assembled press that he went to church on Sunday. His minister preached from the book of Mark, chapter three. In the passage, Jesus heals a man with a withered hand. The Pharisees watch, looking for a reason to accuse him.

Hegseth then delivered the comparison directly. He told reporters that the press is "just like these Pharisees." He accused the media of being "incredibly unpatriotic" and of spreading "an endless stream of garbage."

Pope Leo XIV Responds

Less than an hour after Hegseth's press conference ended, Pope Leo XIV — the first American-born pope — posted a message on X that appeared aimed directly at the defense secretary.

The Pope wrote that woe comes to "those who manipulate religion and the very name of God for their own military, economic, and political gain, dragging that which is sacred into darkness and filth."

He did not name Hegseth. But the timing left little room for doubt. The post deepened an already growing rift between the Trump administration and the Catholic Church over the use of religious imagery to justify the war in Iran.

A Pattern of Religious Language in Wartime

This is not the first time Hegseth has mixed faith and force at the Pentagon. At a March 25 prayer service, he asked God to give troops "unbreakable unity and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy."

He has also called the Easter Sunday rescue of a downed pilot a "miracle." He has described military chaplain programs as "infected by political correctness." And he belongs to a church connected to Doug Wilson, a pastor who identifies as a Christian nationalist.

John Fea, a history professor at Messiah University who has written about evangelicals and politics, noted that while presidents have always invoked faith in wartime, the Trump administration has set itself apart with "stark, unequivocal religious language."

Retired Army Maj. Gen. Randy Manner told reporters in March that military chaplains feel they "can't voice their concerns." One unnamed Pentagon official described the climate inside the building as "terrifying."