Pope Leo ​made an impassioned plea on Sunday (March 15, 2026) for an immediate ceasefire ‌in the expanding Iran war, lamenting “atrocious violence” that ​he said had killed thousands of non-combatants and ⁠caused suffering across the region. As the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran enters its third week, the first U.S. Pope warned that violence ‌would not bring the justice, stability and peace that the peoples of the region ‌long for. “For two weeks, the peoples of the Middle ‌East ⁠have been suffering the atrocious violence of war,” ⁠the pope said at his weekly Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square. “In the name of Christians in the Middle East and ​of all women and men ‌of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: Cease fire!” Pope Leo said. During a visit to a Rome parish later, the pope said war could never resolve problems and hit out at people who invoke God to justify killings.

Source: The Hindu March 16, 2026 00:32 UTC