Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged nations involved in the escalating Middle East conflict to recognize their moral responsibility to pursue peace, following airstrikes reportedly carried out by the United States and Israel against Iran.
The Pope made the appeal in his Angelus address on Sunday, where he voiced “deep concern” over recent events in the region, especially in Iran, according to Vatican News.
“Stability and peace are not built with mutual threats, nor with weapons, which sow destruction, pain, and death, but only through a reasonable, authentic, and responsible dialogue,” he said.
The pontiff has issued a dire warning that unchecked violence might have disastrous results.
“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions. “I address to the parties involved a heartfelt appeal to assume the moral responsibility to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss!” he said.
He also prayed that diplomacy would regain prominence in resolving the crisis.
“May diplomacy recover its role, and may the good of peoples be promoted, peoples who long for peaceful coexistence founded on justice. And let us continue to pray for peace,” he said.
According to reports, Iran launched retaliation assaults against Israel and several Gulf nations that house US military installations after Israel and the US started coordinated airstrikes on Tehran and other Iranian cities on Saturday.
The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled the nation for almost 37 years, was later reported by state-run news media in a shocking development.
