Mideast: Pope urges end to ‘spiral of violence before it becomes an unbridgeable chasm’
Leo XIV spoke at the Angelus following the US and Israeli attacks on Iran, warning against “the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions." He appealed to the parties for a “reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue.” On fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he expressed hope that harmony may “prevail in all conflicts”. Speaking about the Gospel of the day, he said that “The Redeemer thus transfigures the wounds of history”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – The impact of missiles, jets launched into the sky, civilians hiding in bunkers, in this “tumultuous time” in the Middle East, could create “an unbridgeable chasm.”
After the Sunday Angelus, Pope Leo XIV spoke about what is happening in Iran, where the country’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei died yesterday in the ongoing attacks by the United States and Israel.
“Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions, I make a heartfelt appeal to all the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence said,” the pontiff, who is following with “deep concern” the uncertain developments in the seemingly unending mutual attacks.
“Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue,” the pope explained.
The papal appeal comes after the failure of talks in Geneva, Switzerland, on Thursday, between the United States and Iran, even after the Foreign Ministry of Oman, the mediating country, had noted “significant progress”.
“May diplomacy regain its proper role, and may the well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice, be upheld. And let us continue to pray for peace,” Leo noted, also mentioning the winds of war in South Asia, with the recent fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“I urgently appeal for a return to dialogue. Let us pray together that harmony may prevail in all conflicts throughout the world. Only peace, a gift of God, can heal the wounds between peoples,” Leo added.
Before the Angelus, the Holy Father addressed the faithful in St Peter's Square from the window of the Vatican Apostolic Palace offering his thoughts about today's Gospel (Mt 17:1-9).
This passage refers to the Transfiguration of Jesus and the appearance of Moses and Elijah, who talked with him, an image depicted by the evangelist as a “radiant picture for all of us,” Leo said.
Such an image, immersed by the author in the “Apostles’ memories”, notes how “Everything that God has commanded to and inspired in human beings finds its full and definitive expression in Jesus,” Leo XIV explained.
On this occasion too, as on the day of his baptism in the Jordan River, the "voice of the Father" proclaims: "This is my beloved Son." With this expression, the Gospel describes “how God reveals himself”.
The disciples Peter, James and John see “Jesus, whose face shines ‘like the sun’,” and “behold the human splendor of God,” i.e. “humble glory, which is not displayed as a spectacle for the crowds to see, but in solemn intimacy” shared with some, on a separate mountain.
“The Transfiguration foreshadows the light of Easter,” Leo added. The latter is above all “an event of death and resurrection, of darkness and new light that Christ radiates on all bodies scourged by violence, crucified by pain, or abandoned in misery.”
Thus, “while evil reduces our flesh to a commodity or an anonymous mass, this same flesh shines with the glory of God. The Redeemer thus transfigures the wounds of history, enlightening our minds and hearts,” the pope said.
“The Father’s reply to the despair of atheism is the gift of his Son, the Savior; the Holy Spirit redeems us from the loneliness of agnosticism by offering us an everlasting communion of life and grace; and in response to our weak faith, the promise of the future resurrection is announced. This is what the disciples saw in Christ’s splendor”.
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22/06/2025 16:55
