US EditionPope Leo urges end to bombing, calls for dialogue amid Iran, Middle East violence
Pope Leo XIV calls for dialogue and disarmament amid a Middle East war causing over 1,230 deaths in Iran, urging leaders to prioritize peace and protect the vulnerable.
- During his Angelus address March 8, Pope Leo XIV appealed for an end to the war in Iran, praying that 'the roar of the bombs may cease'.
- Iranian missile-and-drone strikes have targeted Gulf states and other locations across the Middle East since Feb. 28, killing at least 1,230 people, after U.S. and Israeli air strikes.
- A Maronite priest, Father Pierre El-Rahi, was killed March 9 after an Israeli tank struck a house he rushed to help in Qlayaa, Lebanon.
- The Holy See Press Office conveyed Pope Leo XIV's profound sorrow for victims, including Father Pierre El-Rahi, amid Lebanon's 394 deaths with 83 children.
- Pope Leo warned that ongoing violence risks spreading, with 500,000 displaced people fleeing and President Donald Trump not dismissing deploying American ground troops.
103 Articles
103 Articles
Military expert Ralph D. Thiele hopes for a quick end to the war in the Middle East. Otherwise, there is a great danger that Europe will be involved. "When the hybrid war spreads over Europe and other parts of the world, we are all affected."
The 70-year-old pope has been particularly careful since the beginning of the bombings carried out by the United States, his native country, and Israel, which have provoked a war in the Middle East, calling for peace without mentioning any involved party.
It was probably an Israeli combat jet attack: the Lebanese priest Pierre al-Rai is dead. Pope Leo takes part – and takes back the head of the archdiocese of Tehran-Isfahan. Previously, no contact was possible for days.
Israeli fire kills Maronite priest in south Lebanon
Israeli fire kills Maronite priest in south Lebanon | 9 March 2026 | A south Lebanon parish lost its priest on March 9 when Father Pierre al-Rai of Al-Qlayaa died of wounds sustained from Israeli tank fire, according to state media and a medical source. The National News Agency (NNA) reported that a house in the Christian town was “hit twice in succession by artillery shelling from a hostile Merkava tank” on March 9. The first strike wounded the…
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