Pontiff appeals for ‘responsibility and reason’ following Israeli strikes on Iran
June 16, 2025
Following Israeli strikes on Iran and the Islamic republic’s military response, Pope Leo XIV issued an appeal for peace.“Even in these days, in fact, news is arriving that is of great concern,” the Pontiff said at the conclusion of his June 14 Jubilee audience in St. Peter’s Basilica. “The situation in Iran and Israel has seriously deteriorated, and at such a delicate moment I wish to forcefully renew an appeal for responsibility and reason.”
“The commitment to building a safer world, free from the nuclear threat, must be pursued through respectful encounters and sincere dialogue, to build a lasting peace, founded on justice, brotherhood and the common good,” he continued. “No one should ever threaten the existence of another.”
“It is the duty of all countries to support the cause of peace, initiating paths of reconciliation and promoting solutions that guarantee security and dignity for all,” the Pope added.
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Posted by: Crusader -
Today 12:17 PM ET USA
What exactly does the pope believe would be a "responsible and reasonable" approach to a country that is developing nuclear weapons and threatens to use them to destroy another country when they get them. I suppose we can always count on popes to make generalized statements calling for peace, but they do risk sounding like calling for moral equivalence. This was not so with Pope Pius V regarding Lepanto.
