Catholics during Holy Week should continue to “pray ardently” for a de-escalation of violence in the Middle East, Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement April 1.
“During this holiest of weeks, let us continue to pray ardently for mutually respectful and effective dialogue that leads to a ceasefire and a negotiated end to the conflict with Iran,” he said.
Archbishop Coakley underscored Pope Leo’s call for peace made on Palm Sunday, when the pope said: “Just as the Church contemplates the mystery of the Lord’s Passion, we cannot forget those who today are truly sharing in his suffering.”
“The longer the conflict with Iran continues, including the risk of deploying ground troops to the region, the greater the risk of a dramatic escalation risking an ever-greater regional conflict,” Archbishop Coakley said. “I welcome the Administration’s indications that the war with Iran may soon be coming to an end. And I join our Holy Father’s urgent calls for the Administration and all parties involved to take decisive action toward an immediate ceasefire, and for effective dialogue to resolve this dangerous impasse.”
In his first Palm Sunday homily March 29, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed that Jesus, the King of Peace, embraces all suffering in human history and cries out from the cross against war. Pope Leo repeated the phrase “King of Peace” seven times throughout his homily, weaving it through different moments of the Passion of Christ, pointing to Jesus as a victim of unjust violence who never took up arms in his own defense.
“Christ, King of Peace, cries out again from his cross: God is love! Have mercy! Lay down your weapons! Remember that you are brothers and sisters,” the pope said.
Two days later, in comments outside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo told reporters: “I was told that President Trump had recently stated that he would like to end the war. Hopefully he’s looking for an off-ramp. Hopefully he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence, of bombing, which would be a significant contribution to removing the hatred that’s being created and is increasing constantly in the Middle East and elsewhere.”
Pope Leo continued: “So I would certainly continue to give this call to all leaders of the world: to say, come back to the table to dialogue, let’s look for solutions to problems, let’s look for ways to reduce the amount of violence that we’re promoting, and that peace, especially at Easter, might reign in our hearts.”
Archbishop Coakley concluded his statement by calling on Christians to be “peacemakers.”
“Emboldened by Easter’s powerful, transformative grace, I urge the faithful to continue praying ardently for mutual respectful and effective dialogue, and that we Christians be true to our vocation as peacemakers, the ‘light of the world’ and the ‘salt of the earth’ (Matthew 5:13-14),” he said.
