The Israel-Iran conflict appears to be worsening, and everyone should pray fervently for peace in the Middle East, the chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) urged in a June 16 statement. 

“In the midst of this escalation, Pope Leo XIV has reminded us that ‘It is the duty of all countries to support the cause of peace by initiating paths of reconciliation and promoting solutions that guarantee security and dignity for all,’” Chairman Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, who shepherds the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon of Los Angeles, said in the message posted by the USCCB. 

The message noted that Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu, the archbishop of Tehran-Ispahan of the Latins, Iran, recently stated that the faithful are praying that, through the Holy Spirit’s guidance, “peace through dialogue based on a consensus will prevail.” Bishop Zaidan said he joined in this statement. 

“In that same spirit,” Bishop Zaidan added, “I call on Catholics and all men and women of goodwill in the United States and around the world to ardently pray for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. May the Prince of Peace move the hearts and illumine the minds of all for the attainment of peace in the region.” 

The bishop also said that national and international powers must strive for diplomatic progress in the situation. 

“We urge the United States and the broader international community to exert every effort to renew a multilateral diplomatic engagement for the attainment of a durable peace between Israel and Iran,” Bishop Zaidan said. “The further proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, as well as this escalation of violence, imperils the fragile stability remaining in the region.”