The Pope, 'no more weapons, in the Middle East irreparable chasm'

"Stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable chasm". It is an appeal in which he chooses weighted words, calibrated to the particular geopolitics of the Middle East where every action can trigger a reaction capable of triggering out-of-control effects, that pronounced this morning at the Angelus by Pope Leo.

In the aftermath of the joint "pre-emptive" attack by Israel and the United States on Iran which was followed by a spotty reaction by Iranian missile forces, Leone raised his voice as expected: "I follow with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran in these dramatic hours, stability and peace are not built with mutual threats nor with weapons that sow destruction pain and death," he scolds, "but only through reasonable, responsible and authentic dialogue.

'Faced with the possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions,' is therefore his appeal, 'I make a heartfelt appeal to the parties involved to assume the moral responsibility to stop the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable chasm.

"May the diplomacy rediscover its role and may the good of peoples be promoted," the Pontiff then added in the post-Angelus address, emphasising how they "yearn for peaceful coexistence based on justice. Let us continue - he appealed once again - to pray for peace".

Leo also did not forget the other conflict fronts facing the globe. "In these days," he said, "there is also worrying news of clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, I raise my plea for an urgent return to dialogue, let us pray together so that concord may prevail in all the world's conflicts, only peace, God's gift, can heal the wounds between peoples". Yesterday, it was the Tehran embassy that had addressed Leo directly, asking the Pope to condemn the Israeli-American attack and claiming the legitimacy of the Iranian reaction. The Pope addressed his appeal to "all parties", once again invoking what the Holy See never tires of promoting: a dialogue of the most multilateral nature possible to prevent that return to the "fervour" of war that is now "fashionable", Leo had said in his famous speech before the diplomatic corps at the beginning of the year.