Pope says Trump’s threat to destroy Iranian civilization is ‘truly unacceptable’
ROME (AP) — Pope Leo XIV said Tuesday that U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to Rome destroying Iranian civilization It was “truly unacceptable” and any attack on civilian infrastructure violated international law, he said.
In some of his strongest comments yet against the war, the American pope called on Americans and other people of good will to contact their political leaders and congressional representatives to demand that they reject war and work for peace.
“As we all know today, there was a threat to the entire Iranian people. This is truly unacceptable,” Leo said as he left his country home in Castel Gandolfo, south of Rome.
He was referring to Trump’s threat that “an entire civilization will die tonight” if Iran fails to achieve its goal. deadline reach an agreement that includes reopening Strait of Hormuz.
Leo recalled his call for peace at Easter and his call to reject war, “especially one that many people say is an unjust war, one that continues to escalate and solves nothing.”
He invited all people of good will to contact their political leaders and congressional representatives to remind them that attacks on civilian infrastructure are “contrary to international law” and are also “a sign of the hatred, division, destruction that human beings are capable of, and we all want to work for peace.”
in recent weeksThe first US-born pope in history has toned down his opposition to the US-Israeli war in Iran, after initially making quiet calls for peace and dialogue.
Last week, Leo publicly named Trump for the first time, saying he hoped the US president was truly “looking for a way out.”
The Vatican has a tradition of diplomatic neutrality, and it is rare for a pope to name a political leader or country particularly critically. But the war in Iran prompted even a reserved pope to break with typical protocols.
Leo on Tuesday did not name Trump, but in English-language comments urged people to contact their political leaders and congressional representatives to “ask them to work for peace and reject war.”
“There’s a worldwide economic crisis, an energy crisis, (a) situation of great instability in the Middle East, and this only serves to further incite hatred around the world,” he said.
He said the message to political leaders should be: “Come back to the table, let’s talk, let’s seek peaceful solutions and especially remember the innocent children, the elderly, the sick, the many people who have been or will become victims of the ongoing war.”
Vatican especially worried About how the Iran conflict spilled into a renewed war in Lebanon between Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The Vatican fears Christians in southern Lebanon, an important bulwark for the church in the region.
Earlier in the day, after the Vatican-led convoy carrying over 40 tons of aid was prevented from arriving with the Easter shipment, the Vatican published a special message from Leo to the residents of Lebanon’s Debel. It was canceled for what the Lebanese Maronite Church described as “security reasons”.
In his message, Leo expressed solidarity with the “injustices” suffered by Christians in southern Lebanon and compared them to the suffering of Jesus.
The message, written in French and signed by Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin, said: “You are very close to Jesus in your unhappiness, in the injustice you endure, in the feeling of abandonment you experience. You are also close to Him on this Easter Day, when He defeated the forces of evil and which resonates in you as a promise of the future.”
Leo visited Lebanon late last year on his first international trip as pope.
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