Pope Leo XIV demanded a ceasefire in the Middle East on Sunday in what the Vatican portrayed as his strongest comments yet, directly addressing the leaders responsible for the war in Iran.
Speaking at the end of his Sunday noon blessing, Leo told the faithful: “On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict,” according to the Associated Press account of his remarks. He added, “Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened,” and said, “Violence can never lead to the justice, stability, and peace that the people are waiting for.”
In the comments, Leo did not cite the United States or Israel by name. The speech referenced attacks that targeted a school, an apparent reference to a missile strike on an elementary school in Iran in the opening days of the war that killed over 165 people, many of them children.
U.S. officials have said outdated intelligence likely led to the United States launching the strike, and that an investigation is ongoing, AP reported. The Vatican, meanwhile, has highlighted the carnage of the Minab strike, including an aerial photo of a mass grave being dug for young victims that appeared March 6 on the front page of its official newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano, under the headline “The Face of War.”
Leo said he was close to the families of those killed in attacks that “have hit schools, hospitals and residential centers.” He also expressed particular concern about the impact of the war in Lebanon, where aid groups have warned of a humanitarian crisis, AP said.
The Vatican’s emphasis on Lebanon included a focus on Christian communities in southern Lebanon, which it has described as a longstanding bulwark for Christians across a majority Muslim region. For the two weeks since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war, AP reported, the pope limited his comments to muted appeals for diplomacy and dialogue, appearing to avoid positioning himself as a political counterweight to President Donald Trump.
The report said Leo’s approach of not naming the United States or Israel publicly has also matched the Vatican’s tradition of diplomatic neutrality. On Friday, AP reported, he addressed priests attending a Vatican class on the sacrament of confession and described it as a workshop that restores unity and peace. In that exchange, Leo said: “One might well ask: do those Christians who bear grave responsibility in armed conflicts have the humility and courage to make a serious examination of conscience and to go to confession?”
While the pope’s messaging had been indirect, AP reported that some U.S. cardinals and the Vatican secretary of state have spoken more bluntly. Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said the war was morally unjustifiable, and Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich called it “sickening” how the White House was splicing video game imagery into its social media messaging about the conflict.
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, rejected Washington’s claim of a “preventive war,” AP reported. But he said the Holy See was keeping dialogue open, adding: “The Holy See speaks with everyone, and when necessary we speak also with the Americans, with the Israelis and show them what to us are the solutions.”
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