In the wake of the American strikes on nuclear sites in the Islamist-run nation of Iran, Pope Leo XIV called for a return to diplomacy and prayed for peace to come to the Middle East.
During his Angelus address on Sunday, Pope Leo lamented that “alarming news continues to arrive from the Middle East, especially from Iran.”
The comments from the American Pontiff came just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump launched a series of targeted strikes on their Iranian nuclear facilities in a bid to prevent the radical regime from completing their bid to develop nuclear weapons.
While Pope Leo did not specifically mention the bombings, he said: “War does not solve problems… On the contrary, it amplifies them and causes deep wounds in the history of peoples—wounds that take generations to heal.
“No military victory can ever compensate for a mother’s pain, a child’s fear, or a stolen future.”
“Today, more than ever, humanity cries out and pleads for peace,” he added.
Pope Leo went on to call on the international community to redouble diplomatic efforts to bring the conflict to an end and to “stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”
The Pope said the cause of peace “demands responsibility and reason and must not be drowned out by the roar of weapons or by rhetorical words that incite conflict.”
“Let diplomacy silence the weapons! Let nations shape their future with works of peace, not through violence and bloody conflicts!”
“In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine,” he continued, “the daily suffering of the population—especially in Gaza and other territories—risks being forgotten, even as the need for adequate humanitarian aid becomes ever more urgent.”
The Pope’s comments came amid calls throughout Europe on Sunday for Iran to return to the negotiating table and reach a peace agreement.
On Friday, representatives from Britain, France, Germany, the EU and Iran met in Geneva, Switzerland for crunch peace talks. However, Tehran maintained its position that it would not engage directly with the Trump administration.
Following the strikes on Iran, President Trump once again called on Tehran to come to the table for talks, saying: “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace.”
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