Pope Leo XIV again called for a stop to “the thunderous sound of bombs” in Iran and the Middle East, for the guns to “fall silent” and for the opening of “a space for dialogue” to find a way out of this latest conflict in the region.

He also expressed his concern that “the conflict will spread and that other countries in the region, including beloved Lebanon, may again sink back into instability.” 

He issued his appeal when he addressed thousands of pilgrims and tourists gathered in St. Peter’s Square at midday on Sunday, March 8.

“Deeply disturbing news continues to arrive from Iran and the entire Middle East,” he told them. “In addition to the episodes of violence and devastation as well as the widespread climate of hatred and fear, there is also the concern that the conflict will spread and that other countries in the region, including beloved Lebanon, may again sink back into instability.”

The American-born pope prayed and called for a stop to the bombing and fighting, even as President Donald Trump called for “unconditional surrender” from Iran. Iran’s leadership responded by saying Iran would “never surrender,” suggesting that this war could go on for a long time.

“We lift up our humble prayer to the Lord, so that the thunderous sound of bombs may cease, weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open up in which the voice of the people can be heard,” Pope Leo said. 

His appeal today echoed what he said last Sunday, March 1, the day after Israel and the United States started the war by launching an attack on Iran and killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and many senior military and religious officials.

In that address, Leo warned that the world is “faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions.” In words directed to the leaders of Israel, the United States and Iran, he said, “I address to the parties involved a heartfelt appeal to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.” The rulers of the three countries most directly involved have not heeded his words.

Since the war started on Feb. 28, the United States is reported to have hit more than 3,000 targets across Iran, a vast country the size of Alaska with a population of 93 million people, with an average age of 35. Israel has hit 2,500 targets. Iran, in reprisal for the attack on the country, has launched missiles and drones into Israel, the Gulf States and other places that have U.S. bases.

By March 7, at least 1,332 people have been reported killed in Iran by U.S.-Israeli attacks, including more than 160 girls in a primary school that was hit on the first day of the war, Al Jazeera reports. Six U.S. service members have been killed and 18 injured. 

Israel’s Ministry for Health has reported that 1,929 persons have been injured in the country and evacuated to hospitals since the war began, and nine of them are seriously injured, the BBC reported. Eleven Israelis have been killed since the war started.

In his remarks at the midday Angelus, Pope Leo also spoke about Lebanon, which he visited last year. Israel is now seeking to eliminate the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in reprisal for recent attacks and has ordered almost half a million people to leave southern Lebanon and southern Beirut.

Lebanon’s social affairs minister, Haneen Sayed, has announced that approximately 454,000 Lebanese people have registered as displaced by March 7. Al Jazeera reports that 123 Lebanese have been killed and 632 injured in the war by that same date.

Pope Leo also expressed concern about the expansion of the war to other countries. Besides the many deaths and injuries in Iran, Israel and Lebanon, people have also been killed in Kuwait (four), the United Arab Emirates (three), Iraq (two), Bahrain (one) and Oman (one), while many have been injured in those countries as well as in Qatar and Jordan, as Al Jazeera reported on March 7.

Pope Leo concluded his remarks today by entrusting his appeal for a stop to the bombing and the opening of a dialogue to end the conflict “to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, that she may intercede for those who suffer because of war and lead hearts along the paths of reconciliation and hope.”

Pope Leo also noted that March 8 is International Women’s Day and said, “We renew our commitment, which for us Christians is based on the Gospel, to recognize the equal dignity of man and woman.”

“Unfortunately,” he said, “many women, from childhood onward, are still discriminated against and suffer various forms of violence. In a special way, I offer to them my solidarity and my prayers.”