As the U.S. and Israel-Iran war enters its fourth week, and amid a deep humanitarian crisis throughout the region, Pope Leo XIV appealed during his Sunday Angelus prayer March 22: “Persevere in prayer, so that hostilities may cease and paths of peace may finally open up, based on sincere dialogue and respect for the dignity of every human person.”
War
Pope Leo XIV has urged the media to show the human face of suffering amid war and to verify news so as not to recirculate “propaganda” or become a “mouthpiece for those in power.”
Believing problems and differences can be resolved with war is absurd, Pope Leo XIV said, chastising those who use God’s name in their dark and deadly pursuits.
In a fractured world threatened by war, Christians can strengthen their bonds of unity to show the world that peace is possible, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago said.
Catholics across the Middle East are reeling with shock and sorrow, and responding with prayer, amid joint strikes Israeli and U.S. forces launched on Iran Feb. 28, plunging the region into war.
Pope Leo XIV has renewed his “heartfelt appeal” for an “immediate ceasefire” in Russia’s war against Ukraine and again urged dialogue “be strengthened to pave the way toward peace.”
At a shrine topped by a 28-foot-tall statue of Our Lady of Lebanon, Pope Leo XIV listened to stories of unshakable faith amid war, injustice, and suffering.
While the famed image of Our Lady of Czestochowa is known worldwide, its story is full of dramatic events worth acknowledging.
Meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Pope Leo XIV reiterated his willingness to host representatives of Russia and Ukraine at the Vatican for peace negotiations.
Amid Russia’s war on Ukraine, the faith of Ukrainians is being “sorely tested,” but God “will have the last word, and life will conquer death,” said Pope Leo XIV.