The pontiff addressed participants of the Borgo Dialogues at the Vatican on June 19.

WASHINGTON - “I commend President Trump and President Pezeshkian for taking the vitally important step of signing a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending hostilities between the United States and Iran and advancing deeper dialogue for lasting peace in the region,” said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace.   

Bishop Zaidan’s statement follows: 

“I commend President Trump and President Pezeshkian for taking the vitally important step of signing a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending hostilities between the United States and Iran and advancing deeper dialogue for lasting peace in the region. Preventing further proliferation of nuclear weapons is critically important for avoiding a dangerous escalation of conflict in the Middle East. Echoing our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV’s expression of hope, I call on all parties to engage in good faith, and pray that ‘this agreement may help strengthen mutual trust, security and stability in the Middle East, promoting paths of dialogue and cooperation among peoples.’ 

“I call on the United States, Iran, and Israel to now also prioritize an end to the fighting in Lebanon. The disarming of Hezbollah is necessary for peace and development in Lebanon. Over one million people have been internally displaced, including 400,000 children, and thousands have fled to neighboring Syria, potentially adding to the region’s instability. If the fighting and humanitarian catastrophe continue in Lebanon, I fear that peace across the wider Middle East will remain unreachable.  

“Let us pray that the Holy Spirit, creator and vivifier, may breathe wisdom, compassion, and perseverance into the minds and hearts of the negotiators, so that peace in the region may finally become a reality.”   

### 

The hermits have taken up residence in the historic hermitage of St. Torquatus to pray for the needs of the pope and the Church.

At least 10 people, including four children, were injured in a Russian strike on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, Ukrainian authorities said Friday. In southern Ukraine, the State Emergency Service reported that one person was killed and four others were injured in a separate Russian attack on the Odesa region.

Read all

 

We need “to make sure that we are always aware of the stressors that come up in their lives. While they’re called to ministry, they are human first,” he said.

Read all

 

At least 18 people were killed in southern Lebanon after Israeli airstrikes overnight. At the same time, Israel confirmed four of its soldiers also died in the fighting.

Read all

 

A national U.S. study finds growing interest in Catholic faith driven by the search for truth, purpose and community

Read all

 

This year at its annual conference, the Society of Catholic Scientists offered a new workshop designed to prepare Catholic scientists to speak on science and faith topics in the public square.

Pope Leo XIV urges participants in the first 'Borgo Laudato si’ Dialogues' to foster a new model of moral leadership and to help build a 'civilisation of love' in the face of growing dehumanisation.

Read all