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ROME (AP) -- Pope Leo XIV demanded a ceasefire in the Middle East on Sunday in his strongest comments to date, directly addressing the leaders who launched the war in Iran.
"On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all women and men of good will, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict," Leo said. "Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened. Violence can never lead to the justice, stability, and peace that the people are waiting for."
Leo didn't cite the United States or Israel by name in his comments at the end of his Sunday noon blessing. But history's first U.S. pope mentioned the attacks that targeted a school, an apparent reference to the missile strike on an elementary school in Iran in the opening days of the war that killed over 165 people, many of them children.
U.S. officials have said outdated intelligence likely led to the United States launching the strike, and that an investigation is ongoing.
The Vatican has highlighted the carnage of the Minab strike, running an aerial photo of the mass grave being dug for the young victims on the March 6 front page of its official newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, under the headline "The Face of War."
Leo said he was close to the families of those who had been killed in the attacks "which have hit schools, hospitals and residential centers." He expressed particular concern about the impact of the war in Lebanon, where aid groups are warning of a humanitarian crisis.