Pope Leo XIV issued a categorical condemnation of Iran’s Islamist regime engaging in the widespread massacre of protesters on Thursday, urging the parties involved in the conflict in that country to seek peace, but stating “obviously” he hoped for an end to the execution of dissidents.
The earthly head of the Catholic Church made the comments on a flight back to Rome from Equatorial Guinea, where he had just completed a tour of Africa that also included stops in Algeria, once home to St. Augustine, and Cameroon, where jihadist terrorism and a civil war between English and French speakers have devastated civilian life. The pope repeated his calls for peace in his remarks to the press on the flight as well as weighing in on the Church’s position against the blessing of couples in “irregular situations,” including same-sex couples.
Asked by the American network Newsmax to comment on the thousands of Iranians killed by their government for publicly protesting, Pope Leo emphasized that the Catholic Church stands clearly against slaughter.
“I condemn all actions that are unjust,” he replied. “I condemn the taking of people’s lives. I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people — from conception to natural [death] — their lives should be respected and protected.”
“So when a regime, when a country takes decisions which takes away the lives of other people unjustly, then obviously that is something that should be condemned,” the pope emphasized.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Pope Leo called for world leaders and individuals to “promote a new attitude and a culture of peace.” In Iran, he added, “the issue is not whether there is regime change or not; the issue is how to promote the values we believe in without the death of so many innocent people.”
The pope lamented the “chaotic, critical situation” affecting the world as a result of Iran repeatedly obstructing commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the difficulty in getting American and Iranian officials to negotiation.
“Even the negotiations themselves — one day Iran says yes and the United States says no, and vice versa — and we do not know where things are heading,” he observed. “This chaotic, critical situation for the global economy has been created, but there is also an entire population in Iran of innocent people suffering because of this war.”
“So, on regime change, yes or no: it is not even clear what regime currently exists after the first days of attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran,” he added. “As a Church — I repeat — as a pastor, I cannot be in favor of war. And I would like to encourage everyone to make efforts to seek answers that come from a culture of peace, not hatred and division.”
Prior to the current conflict between America and Iran, which began on February 28 with the launch of the Pentagon’s Operation Epic Fury, massive protests largely attracting youth rocked Iran’s major cities in late December, initially triggered by a collapse in the value of Iranian currency and following years of regular protests featuring chants such as “death to Khamenei,” calling for an end to radical Islamism. The Iranian regime responded with mass imprisonment, beatings, and killings of unarmed protesters. Human rights groups have attempted to document the victims of the brutality, documented hundreds of arrests, but many protesters have reportedly gone missing with no clear arrest or charges pressed against them. Some Iranian dissident groups have estimated that the Islamic regime killed as many as 30,000 people in the first three months of 2026.
Pope Leo first mentioned the repression of dissidents in Iran during a public address on January 11, stating, “My thoughts turn to the situation currently unfolding in the Middle East, especially in Iran and Syria, where ongoing tensions continue to claim many lives.”
“I hope and pray that dialogue and peace may be patiently nurtured in pursuit of the common good of the whole of society,” he asserted.
The pope also welcomed the Archbishop of Tehran-Isfahan, Cardinal Dominique Mathieu, to the Vatican in March after he was forced to evacuate following the initiation of American and Israeli military activity. Pope Leo has repeatedly made public statements urging Christians not to emigrate from their homelands, emphasizing that the Church “does not want anyone to be forced to leave their country.”
“We must not forget that remaining in our homeland and working day by day to develop a civilization of love and peace remains something very valuable,” the pope said during a visit to Lebanon in December. Lebanon is experiencing an ongoing invasion by Israel that has displaced entire Christian villages in the south of the country. Israeli officials insist that the invasion is necessary to erase the presence of the Iran-backed jihadist organization Hezbollah from its border.
During his first year running the Catholic Church, Pope Leo has repeatedly made comments in favor of the victims of some of the world’s most abhorrent human rights atrocities. In November, the pope called for prayer and change to help the persecuted Christians of Nigeria. Nigeria has repeatedly been identified, for over a decade, as the deadliest country in the world to practice Christianity as a result of the proliferation of jihadist terror groups such as Boko Haram and the Fulani “herdsmen” terrorists.
“I think especially of Bangladesh, Nigeria, Mozambique, Sudan, and other countries from which we frequently hear of attacks on communities and places of worship,” the pope said in November. “God is a merciful Father who desires peace among all His children!”
In Latin America, Pope Leo has been supportive of anti-socialist Christian leaders who have been repressed by Marxist movements in the region. In January, for example, the pope met with María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s most popular opposition leader and an avowed and public Catholic.
Pope Leo’s support of human rights victims stands in significant contrast to his predecessor, Pope Francis, who engaged publicly with repressive dictators and refused to condemn their abuses. The most egregious example of this was the late pope’s visit to Cuba in 2015, in which he engaged in friendly banter with mass murderer Raúl Castro and denied seeing any evidence of abuses — after he was filmed sitting in front of communist regime thugs while they openly beat a dissident shouting the word “freedom” near the pope’s convoy.
Pope Francis had also refused to meet with Venezuelan dissident leaders while embracing imprisoned dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.
Read the full article here