Do not give in to the logic of war, warns Pope Francis

As he has for weeks, the Pope pleaded for “the paths of dialogue and diplomacy” in the Middle East, as opposed to giving in “to the logic of demands and war.”

Following another week of high tensions between Iran and Israel, and with the conflict in Gaza continuing, Pope Francis renewed his call not to “give in to the logic of war,” after the recitation of the Regina Caeli from the window of the Apostolic Palace on April 21, 2024. The Argentine Pontiff also recalled “the martyred Ukraine.”

“I continue to follow the situation in the Middle East with concern and pain,” Pope Francis told the thousands of faithful gathered in Rome’s St. Peter’s Square. “I renew my appeal not to give in to the logic of demands and war.”

“On the contrary, let the paths of dialogue and diplomacy, which can achieve so much, prevail,” insisted the Pope, confiding that he prays “every day” for peace in Israel and Palestine. “I hope that these two peoples will soon be able to stop suffering,” he concluded.

Amid continuing conflict

Last Sunday, Pope Francis appealed for peace and deplored “the worsening of the situation in Israel, due to the intervention of Iran.” In retaliation for the Israeli bombardment of the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, Israel was targeted by an Iranian air attack on the night of April 13-14.

This week, Iran suffered a drone attack attributed to Israel. On Friday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations condemned “all acts of retaliation” in the region and called for de-escalation.

As he has done almost every Sunday since the Russian offensive in Ukraine in February 2022, Pope Francis also turned his thoughts to “the martyred Ukraine, which is suffering so much from war.”

The full text of the Pope’s comments can be found here.