Tag: Iran

President Donald Trump on 5 May continued his series of social media and verbal attacks on Pope Leo XIV, accusing him in a radio interview of "endangering" Catholics through his opposition to the Iran war.

The Trump administration has canceled an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami for sheltering unaccompanied migrant children, leaving just three months to place an unspecified number of children.

After Donald Trump's threat to Iran if they did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Pope Leo XIV issued a statement calling it "truly unacceptable."

President Donald Trump on 7 April backed down from his threat to wipe out Iran's "whole civilization," citing negotiations with Pakistani mediators.

President Donald Trump on Easter threatened major strikes on Iran's energy and transportation infrastructure if its leaders do not cooperate with his demand to open the Strait of Hormuz.

As the bombing of Iran by the United States and Israel rolls on and as Iran continues to lash out at its Arab neighbours, the Australian bishops have issued a dramatic call for the violence to stop.

The apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia warned that the current military escalation in the Persian Gulf amid the US and Israel-Iran war is a conflict with "ancient roots" that poses a serious threat to the Middle East and the wider world.

The Vatican secretary of state appealed for peace and diplomacy on the fifth day of the US and Israel-Iran war, warning that recognition of any country's right to wage "preventive war" according to their own criteria would risk the world "being set ablaze."

As the scourge of war spreads across the Middle East, including Lebanon, the ones paying the ultimate price are the innocent men, women and children who want to live in peace, said Melkite Greek Catholic Archbishop Georges Iskandar of Tyre.

In a statement published 28 February, Italian Bishop Paolo Martinelli, apostolic vicar of Southern Arabia, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen, expressed his "concern" about the situation and called on the faithful "to remain calm and serene, while at the same time carefully follow all the instructions given by our civil authorities."

Pope Leo XIV is urging an immediate return to diplomacy as violence intensifies across the Middle East following the US and Israel launching major ongoing combat operations against Iran.

Catholics across the Middle East are reeling with shock and sorrow, and responding with prayer, amid joint strikes Israeli and US forces launched on Iran 28 February.