Archbishop Paul Coakley, head of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has condemned President Trump’s threat to destroy a “civilization” in Iran and urged an end to the war, echoing Pope Leo XIV’s appeals for peace.
“The threat of destroying a whole civilization and the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure cannot be morally justified. There are other ways to resolve conflict between peoples. I call on President Trump to step back from the precipice of war and negotiate a just settlement for the sake of peace, and before more lives are lost,” Coakley said in a statement issued by the USCCB.
“After his resurrection, Jesus appeared to his disciples in Jerusalem, and his first words were ‘Peace be with you.’ As the Holy Father, in his Urbi et Orbi message on Easter reflected, the peace that ‘Jesus gives us is not a peace that merely silences the weapons, but one that touches and transforms the heart of each of us! Let us make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts!” the statement added.
Pope Leo also strongly condemned President Trump’s threat. “Today, as we all know, there has also been this threat against the entire people of Iran. And this is truly unacceptable! There are certainly issues of international law here, but even more, it is a moral question concerning the good of the people as a whole, in its entirety,” he told reporters.
In his statement, Coakley urged people to join Pope Leo in prayer during a peace vigil the US-born pontiff will hold this Saturday, April 11. “I make a special plea to my brother bishops, the priests, the laity, and all people yearning for true peace to join the Holy Father’s Vigil for Peace, whether virtually, or in parishes, chapels, or before the Lord present in the quiet of their hearts to join with our Holy Father as we pray for peace in our world,” he said.
Pope Leo and other Catholic leaders have been outspoken in their opposition to the US-Israeli war against Iran. Archbishop Timothy Broglio, a former USCCB head who serves as the head of the Catholic Church’s Archdiocese for US Military Services, has said the war is unjust under the Catholic Church’s Just War Theory.
Catholic leaders have also been critical of US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who has tried to portray the US war as one sanctioned by God. “The abuse and manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit at this time,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said last month when asked about Hegseth’s rhetoric.
