ROME (dpa-AFX) – Pope Leo XIV has called for a return to diplomacy in view of the Israeli-American attacks on Iran and their counterattacks. The head of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide spoke of a “tragedy of enormous proportions” at the end of his Sunday prayers in the Vatican. “Stability and peace cannot be achieved through mutual threats or through weapons that sow destruction, suffering and death, but only through sensible, responsible and authentic dialogue.”
In front of tens of thousands of people in St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff warned everyone involved to take “moral responsibility.” The spiral of violence must be stopped “before it becomes an irreversible abyss.” Leo concluded with the words: “May diplomacy regain its role and the well-being of the peoples be promoted.”/cs/DP/zb
