Key Highlights
- Pope Leo XIV warned Sunday that U. S.-Israel airstrikes on Iran risk plunging the Middle East into an "irreparable abyss," urging leaders to halt a dangerous spiral of violence.
- Speaking at the Angelus, the pontiff expressed "deep concern" over recent developments and called on nations to choose dialogue over war."Stability and peace are not built with mutual threats, nor with weapons, which sow destruction, pain, and death, but only through a reasonable, authentic, and responsible dialogue," the pope said, according to Vatican News.
- Pope Leo XIV leads the Angelus prayer from the window of the Apostolic Palace at the Vatican on March 1, 2026.
- The pontiff warned that escalating violence in the Middle East risks becoming an "irreparable abyss." (REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane) "Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions," he added, "I address to the parties involved a heartfelt appeal to assume the moral responsibility to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss!" The pope's warning came after Israel and the U. S.
- launched a joint military operation against Iran on Saturday, dubbed "Operation Epic Fury." The attacks reportedly killed several senior leaders, including Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for more than three decades.
