Pope Leo XIV, Cardinals Condemn Escalating US-Israel Conflict in Iran
ROME – Pope Leo XIV has issued a plea for an end to the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran, as condemnation of the escalating hostilities grows within the Vatican. The Pope expressed “deep sorrow” Monday following the death of a Maronite Catholic priest, Rev. Pierre El Raii, in southern Lebanon, killed during a bombing while attempting to rescue a wounded parishioner.
The Pope’s call for peace, articulated through Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni, comes amid increasing international concern over the widening conflict. Leo has made a series of appeals for dialogue since the war began, seeking to avoid further inflaming tensions.
However, while the Pope’s public statements have been measured, several cardinals have been more direct in their criticism. Cardinal Robert McElroy, the archbishop of Washington, argued the U.S. and Israel failed to meet the moral criteria for a just war, citing the lack of an imminent threat, unclear objectives, and potentially devastating consequences.
“Lebanon may fall into civil war. The world’s oil supply is under great strain. The potential disintegration of Iran could well produce new and dangerous realities,” McElroy stated in a diocesan newspaper interview. “For all of these reasons, Catholic teaching leads to the conclusion that our entry into this war was not morally legitimate.”
Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, denounced the White House’s use of action movie clips spliced with real footage from the conflict, calling it “sickening.” In a statement picked up by Vatican Media, Cupich criticized the portrayal of real suffering as entertainment.
These criticisms echo concerns voiced by other religious leaders. Cardinal Pablo Virgilio David, vice president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, expressed dismay at the detachment of modern warfare from human reality, describing military operators viewing conflict through “screens where maps, radar signals and algorithm-generated targets move like icons in a computer game.”
The Vatican’s traditional diplomatic neutrality hasn’t prevented it from questioning the justification for preemptive strikes against Iran. Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state, warned last week that recognizing a right to “preventive war” without a supranational legal framework could “set the whole world ablaze.”
The appointment of Archbishop Gabriele Caccia as the new U.S. ambassador to the Holy See presents a challenge, requiring him to navigate relations between the Vatican, U.S. bishops, and the White House amidst these tensions. Vatican commentator Massimo Faggioli noted the potential for friction “between the Vatican of Leo XIV, the first pope from the USA, and this USA of Trump now at the head of a war fueled by a national-religious rhetoric.”
The conflict’s potential ramifications extend beyond the immediate region, raising concerns about global stability and humanitarian consequences. The Vatican’s response reflects a growing international chorus calling for de-escalation and a return to diplomatic solutions.
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