Pope Leo on Sunday appealed for a halt to the military assault on Iran and across the wider Middle East, warning that the escalating conflict was breeding fear and hatred with the potential to destabilize neighboring countries.
Speaking during the Angelus prayer at St. Peter’s Square, the first American pope said alarming reports continued to emerge from the region as the US-Israeli campaign entered its ninth day, and he called for weapons to fall silent in favor of negotiation.
“Let us raise our humble prayer to the Lord that the roar of bombs may cease, that weapons may fall silent, and that space may be opened for dialogue in which the voices of peoples can be heard,” he said.
Leo expressed particular concern that the fighting could ignite broader instability beyond Iran’s borders, singling out Lebanon as one nation at risk of being pulled back into turmoil.
“Alongside the episodes of violence and devastation and the widespread climate of hatred and fear, there is also growing concern that the conflict could spread and that other countries in the region, including dear Lebanon, could once again sink into instability,” he added.
The pope’s remarks followed a pointed statement earlier in the week from the Vatican’s top diplomat, who said the US-Israeli strikes undermined international law and argued that nations had no right to wage what he called “preventive wars” — an unusually direct challenge to the legal justification for the military campaign.
