Pope Leo calls for Mideast ceasefire
CASTEL GANDOLFO, Italy — Pope Leo XIV called Tuesday for a ceasefire in the Middle East war, saying more than a million people had been forced to flee their homes and urging the warring parties to hold talks.
"I want to renew my appeal for a ceasefire, to work for peace, not with arms but with dialogue," the pope told journalists as he left his residence in Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, for the Vatican.
"Hate is on the rise, violence is getting worse and more than a million people have been displaced, with many dead," he said.
"We want to pray for peace, but I invite all authorities to truly work for dialogue."
Leo XIV, the first American pope, has repeatedly condemned the war and called for dialogue.
But the 70-year-old pontiff has been cautious in his statements since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran that started the war on February 28, refraining from naming any party in his condemnations and appeals for peace.
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