Middle East

Conservative MP Garnett Genuis told The Catholic Register that the Iranian diaspora in Canada has relayed that the interventions by the U.S. and Israel “are a source of joy and cautious optimism”.

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.

As the United States and Israel continued their campaign against Iran, bishops and Christian leaders appeal for peace before the conflict escalates any further.

Pope Leo XIV issued a fervent appeal for return of diplomacy in "these dramatic hours" in the Middle East and Iran, condemning use of weapons that cause "destruction, pain, and death."

The leader of the U.S. Catholic bishops has echoed Pope Leo XIV's call for deescalation and dialogue in the Middle East, following the joint attacks on Iran launched Feb. 28 by the U.S. and Israel.

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

As Lent begins in Jerusalem, the usually crowded streets of the Old City remain quiet, with only a small number of international pilgrims.

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, strongly criticized the U.S.-led Board of Peace, an international body chaired by President Donald Trump to oversee the governance and reconstruction of Gaza.

The Holy See "will not participate" in President Donald Trump's "Board of Peace" for Gaza, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state, said Feb. 17, citing "points that leave us somewhat perplexed."

Franciscan Father Francesco Ielpo, custos of the Holy Land, is urging pilgrims to return to a land nearly devoid of pilgrims over the last two years not only as an opportunity to be where Christ was, but also as a sign of solidarity with Christians in the area whose livelihoods depend on pilgrims.