CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy: Pope Leo urged US President Donald Trump on Tuesday to look for an “off-ramp” to end the Iran war, in a rare direct appeal from the pontiff as the regional conflict expands.
“I’m told that President Trump has recently stated that he would like to end the war,” said Leo, the first pope from the United States.
“Hopefully he’s looking for an off-ramp,” the pope told journalists outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome. “Hopefully he’s looking for a way to decrease the amount of violence.”
Leo, who is known for choosing his words carefully, rarely makes direct appeals to national leaders but he has been stepping up criticism of the Iran war in recent weeks.
On Sunday, in unusually forceful remarks, the pope said that God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have “hands full of blood”.
The month-long Iran conflict, started by joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran on February 28, has spread across the region, killing thousands, disrupting energy supplies and threatening to send the global economy into a tailspin.
Leo lamented on Tuesday the number of people who have been killed and said he hoped the violence could end before Easter on April 5.
“There have been so many deaths, including innocent children,” the pope said. “Let’s continually appeal for peace.”
“There are too many people who promote fighting, violence (and) war,” said Leo.
The White House on Monday defended praying for US troops engaged in the Iran war after Pope Leo XIV warned that God rejects the prayers “of those who wage war.”
“I don’t think there is anything wrong with our military leaders or with the president calling on the American people to pray for our servicemembers and those who are serving our country overseas,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters in response to a question about the pontiff’s comments.
But the 70-year-old pontiff has been cautious in his statements since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that started the war on February 28, refraining from naming any party in his condemnations and appeals for peace.
