Pope Leo on War With Iran

03-08-2026Pastor's CornerFr. Bob Deehan

You might recall that in his November 2024 victory speech, then President-elect Trump stated, “I’m not going to start a war. I’m going to stop wars,” and he promised to focus national resources on domestic priorities rather than foreign conflicts.

A week ago, in the midst of diplomatic negotiations with Iran, our president and his administration initiated a massive joint military operation with Israel against Iran, killing its leaders, and he called for a regime change by its citizens.

Consequently, Iranian retaliatory missile and drone attacks have struck Israel and at least nine other countries in the Middle East that host U.S. military assets. The unpredictable consequences of this retaliation have left many unprepared and worried about the future. On March 2nd, Pope Leo issued a fervent appeal for a return to diplomacy in "these dramatic hours" in the Middle East and Iran, condemning the use of weapons that cause "destruction, pain, and death" and urging "moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence" before it becomes "an irreparable abyss." This possibility has become ever more real as Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, called the killing of Iran's supreme leader "an open war against Muslims" and, in his words, considers bloodshed and revenge against the perpetrators and commanders of this crime as its legitimate duty and right, and will fulfill that duty with all its might.

Pope Leo, provided a forceful and poignant commentary on what he sees happening in our world in a January 9th address to ambassadors from countries with full diplomatic relations with the Holy See. He said, “War is back in vogue, and a zeal for war is spreading... The principle established after the Second World War, which prohibited nations from using force to violate the borders of others, has been completely undermined. Peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good in itself. Instead, peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence.” Let us join our Holy Father in praying together that harmony may prevail in all the world's conflicts, affirming as he said, that "only peace, a gift of God, can heal the wounds between peoples."

God bless you!