- Cindy Wooden, Vatican City (CNS)
Hours after the United States bombed three nuclear enrichment facilities in Iran, Pope Leo XIV has described the situation in the Middle East as "alarming" and urged to "stop the war". On the Solemnity of Corpus Christi, he encouraged the "commitment to be every day bearers of communion and peace" for one another,
"Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss," the pope said June 22, after reciting the prayer for the Angelus with thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.
Nuclear facilities
In Washington late on June 21, President Donald Trump announced that "the U.S. military conducted massive precision strikes on the Iranian regime's three key nuclear facilities - Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan."
"Our goal," Trump said, "was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capability and to stop the nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror."
"Tonight I can report to the world that the strikes were a spectacular military success," Trump said, adding that the facilities had been "completely destroyed."
The U.S. president has also threatened that if Iran did not "make peace," "future attacks would be much bigger and much easier.""
The U.S. bombings came 10 days after Israel began carrying out strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities and its military infrastructure, prompting Iran to retaliate by firing missiles at Israel. Officials have reported that the strikes have killed at least 400 people in Iran and 24 people in Israel.
"There is no conflict when human dignity is at stake."
Addressing the crowd in St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo said people around the world were praying and crying out for peace. "It is a cry that requires responsibility and reason and must not be drowned out by the din of weapons," Pope Leo said. "There is no distant conflict when human dignity is at stake."
Moreover, the Pope added, with the "dramatic scenario" of the bombing of Iran, "the daily suffering of the people, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks falling into oblivion" as the world's attention is directed elsewhere."
"Let diplomacy silence the guns."
War does not solve problems, but amplifies them and produces deep wounds in people's history that take generations to heal," he said. "No armed victory can make up for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future."
"Let diplomacy silence weapons," Pope Leo said. "Let nations chart their future with works of peace, not with violence and bloody conflict!".
Miracle of the loaves and fishes: God unites and transforms
Before praying the Angelus, Pope Leo XIV recalled the feast of the day: "Today, in many countries, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of ChristThe Gospel narrates the miracle of the loaves and fishes (cf. Lk 9:11-17).
"To feed the thousands of people who came to listen to him and ask for healing, Jesus invites the Apostles to present to him what little they have, blesses the loaves and fishes and orders them to distribute them among all. The result is surprising: not only does everyone receive enough to eat, but there is plenty left over".
The miracle, beyond the prodigy, the Pope said, is a "sign", and reminds us that "God's gifts, even the smallest, grow the more they are shared".
"In the Eucharist, between us and God, this is precisely what happens," Pope Leo added. "The Lord welcomes, sanctifies and blesses the bread and wine that we place on the altar, together with the offering of our life, and transforms them into the Body and Blood of Christ, the sacrifice of love for the salvation of the world."
"In the concord of charity, one body of Christ."
"God unites himself to us by welcoming with joy what we present to him and invites us to unite ourselves to him by receiving and sharing with equal joy his gift of love. In this way," says St. Augustine, "as the 'many grains have become one bread, so in the concord of charity one body of Christ is formed' (cf. Sermon 229/A, 2).
Eucharistic Procession from St. John Lateran
At sunset today, the Pope celebrated Holy Mass for the Solemnity of Corpus Christi outside the Basilica of St. John Lateran. This was followed by the Eucharistic Procession. This was announced hours earlier by Leo XIV at the Angelus: "We will celebrate Holy Mass together and then we will set out on the road, carrying the Blessed Sacrament through the streets of our city."
"We will sing, we will pray and, finally, we will gather in the Basilica of St. Mary Major to implore the Lord's blessing on our homes, our families and all humanity," the Pope said.
"Starting from the altar and the tabernacle, may this celebration be a luminous sign of our commitment to be daily bearers of communion and peace for one another, in sharing and charity."
—————-
Cindy Wooden is the editor-in-chief of Catholic News Service Rome.
The information is a translation of the original from OSV News, which you can see here. here.
