(LifeSiteNews) — Catholic clergy and commentators have responded to the recent bombings in the Middle East by calling for peace and an end to wars.
“War does not solve problems; on the contrary, it amplifies them and inflicts deep wounds on the history of peoples, which take generations to heal,” Pope Leo XIV wrote on X the day after the US struck Iranian nuclear sites this week.
“May diplomacy silence the weapons! May nations chart their futures with works of peace, not with violence and bloodstained conflicts!” he further exclaimed.
READ: Pope Leo urges peace after US bombs Iran
Leo’s sentiments were echoed by Catholic influencers, many of whom denounced President Donald Trump’s attacks on Iranian nuclear sites earlier this week, which he has since put an end to.
In a June 23 blog post, philosopher Edward Feser argued that the bombings were not justified since they were “not carried out in response to any act of war on Iran’s part against the United States.”
Similarly, a press release issued by Catholic League Executive Director C. J. Doyle decried the attacks as “a clear rejection of Christian just war ethics, which places the United States of America in the invidious position of waging an aggressive war against a weaker country, on behalf of the regime change objectives of another regional power.”
In an interview with LifeSiteNews, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski likewise condemned the bombings, saying, “in adopting this mentality, and especially in supporting Israel, the USA ends up multiplying occasions of terror.”
At the same time, LifeSite journalist Frank Wright has argued that Trump carried out the strikes as a means of giving Americans and Israelis an “off ramp” from all-out war.
“The US strikes last weekend did not destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities,” he noted. “After the strikes, Trump declared victory – and then peace … then a ceasefire.”
Trump told reporters outside the White House Tuesday morning that he is “not happy with Israel,” nor is he “happy with Iran either,” remarks which prompted blowback from Zionists across the US.
“We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long, so hard, that they don’t know what the **** they’re doing. You understand that?” Trump exclaimed.
READ: Trump rebukes Israel, Iran over hostilities after ceasefire announced
Earlier this week, prominent Catholics worried that Trump was throwing his full support behind Israel.
“With the US entering the Israel-Iran War, and with Trump now indicating he supports regime change in Iran, there’s no way to put it other than Trump broke his promise to not enter the United States into any new wars,” Eric Sammons, Editor-in-Chief of Crisis Magazine, argued in an op-ed.
Additionally, Candace Owens called out Trump by stating, “Trump initially signaled that America had nothing to do with what happened in Iran. That America was not going to get involved. That he was negotiating peace.”
“I don’t know what’s happened to Trump … he is now attacking people who have remained consistent, who are standing against our involvement in the Middle East on the basis of the fact that regime changes have never worked there,” Owens remarked, seemingly referencing Trump’s characterization of his long-time supporter Tucker Carlson as being “kooky.”
While concerns with Trump’s plans for the Middle East may have been warranted earlier this week, his announcement on Truth Social that a ceasefire has been negotiated and is now being enforced should give Catholics reason to hope that he desires peace in the region.
