Pope Leo XIV has called for an end to the war in Iran and warned that the conflict could drag more countries in the Middle East into instability. Source: OSV News.
Speaking to pilgrims after praying the Angelus prayer on Sunday, the Pope said that developing news from Iran and from across the Middle East has caused “deep dismay.”
“Amid episodes of violence and devastation, and the widespread climate of hatred and fear, there is also the concern that the conflict may widen and that other countries in the region, including Lebanon, may once again sink into instability,” he said.
According to The Associated Press, Israeli forces struck an oil storage facility in Tehran, as well as targeted assaults in southern Lebanon against commanders of the Lebanese branch of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Iran has continued striking United States allies in the Gulf, including Bahrain, where it fired missiles at a desalination plant.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi defended the attack, arguing that the “US set this precedent” after it struck a desalination plant in Iran, AP reported.
The Pope’s concern for Lebanon came as government officials confirmed that the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah militants has resulted in the deaths of 394 people, including 83 children.
Since the start of the war on February 28, at least 1230 people in Iran, about a dozen in Israel and seven US service members have been killed, AP said.
In his appeal, Pope Leo called on Catholics to pray so that “the roar of bombs may cease, that the weapons may fall silent, and that a space for dialogue may open in which the voice of the peoples can be heard.”
“I entrust this supplication to Mary, Queen of Peace,” the Pope said. “May she intercede for those who suffer because of war and guide hearts along the paths of reconciliation and hope.”
FULL STORY
Pope urges peace, warns about wider Middle East conflict (By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News)
