Pope Leo XIV made a desperate plea this Sunday to halt violence in the Middle East following recent cross-border attacks between Israel, the United States, and Iran, which have the world on edge. During the Angelus prayer in St. Peter's Square, the Supreme Pontiff expressed his 'deep concern' over the dramatic hours being experienced in the region and urged international leaders to abandon threats in favor of dialogue. 'Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions, I ask the parties involved to assume their moral responsibility and stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss,' he said to the faithful gathered in the Vatican. According to the Argentine News Agency, the Israeli army bombed strategic targets in the heart of Tehran. In a message laden with urgency for the second Sunday of Lent, the Pope emphasized that stability cannot depend on military power or mutual destruction. 'Stability and peace are not built on mutual threats or weapons that sow destruction, pain, and death, but only through a reasonable, authentic, and responsible dialogue,' stated Leo XIV, who also urged that 'diplomacy recover its role and promote the good of peoples, who yearn for peaceful coexistence.' The conflict scenario was not the only axis of his words, as he also dedicated a space to ask for an 'urgent return to dialogue' in the clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Likewise, the Pontiff expressed his closeness to Brazil after the floods in Minas Gerais and greeted a delegation from Cameroon, a country he plans to visit in April. In his closing remarks, Leo XIV was firm on the need for agreements based on justice, concluding that only concord can heal the wounds between peoples in conflict.
