Pope Leo XIV on Thursday urged the US and Iran to return to peace negotiations amid rising tensions in the ongoing war, calling for a new “culture of peace” to replace the default recourse to violence whenever conflicts arise. The remarks come on the heels of a very public back-and-forth between the Pope and US President Donald Trump over the war, marked by Trump’s repeated threats of escalation, which the Pope criticized as undermining diplomatic efforts and risking further instability in the region.
En route home from his trip to Africa, Pope Leo emphasized the need to collectively reject the use of force in international relations and instead rely on consistent, diplomatic mechanisms to resolve international disputes of this scale. Characterizing the current geopolitical situation as “chaotic,” Pope Leo noted the lack of consistency in diplomatic signals and attributed the escalating severity of the situation in the Middle East thereto. “One day Iran says yes, the United States says no, and vice versa,” the pontiff stated. “We don’t know where it will go.”
The tension between Pope Leo XIV and Donald Trump has become an unusually prominent element of the crisis. While disagreements between the Vatican and world leaders are not uncommon, the directness of this exchange particularly stands out. Trump’s emphasis on strength and escalation has contrasted sharply with the Pope’s calls for restraint and dialogue, turning what might have been a quiet disagreement into a public divide.
Observers note that Pope Leo’s tone marks a deviation from his typically mild, more tempered approach. Rather than offering broad moral guidance, he has taken a firmer stance, openly criticizing rhetoric he views as destabilizing. This suggests a belief that the gravity of the situation – particularly involving Iran and the United States – requires clearer, more urgent intervention to prevent further destabilization. This shift was also pointed out during his recent trip to Africa, where his remarks took on a more urgent and pointed character, taking aim at a “handful of tyrants” and “masters of war” who have “ravaged” the world.
“The perceived change in tone is due to the escalation of events … which have forced his words to become more explicit,” said the Rev. Antonio Spadaro, undersecretary of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education. “But the vision was already right there, right beneath the surface.”
The exchange reflects a broader pattern of volatility in the conflict itself, where inconsistent signals and increasingly irrational rhetoric have made (sustained) diplomacy increasingly difficult, if not seemingly impossible. As tensions between the United States and Iran fluctuate, each escalation appears to narrow the leeway for negotiation and increases the chance that even a minor incident or misunderstanding could trigger a wider confrontation to topple an already exceedingly fragile region.
