In the midst of days marked by the roar of gunfire in two critical regions of the world, Pope Leo XIV, the first pontiff born in the United States, raised his voice with prophetic force. The Pope expressed his “deep concern” about the crisis in the Middle East—especially in Iran—and the clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, urging an immediate return to dialogue and condemning the use of violence as a dead end.

“I am following with deep concern what is happening in the Middle East and in Iran in these dramatic hours. Stability and peace are not built on mutual threats, nor on weapons, which sow destruction, pain and death, but only through reasonable, authentic and responsible dialogue,” the Pope wrote in the initial message of the thread.

The Pope did not limit himself to describing the tragedy: faced with the “possibility of a tragedy of enormous proportions,” he made an “early appeal” to the parties involved to halt “the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.” He insisted that diplomacy must reclaim its central role and promote the common good of all peoples, who “yearn for peaceful coexistence based on justice.”

The Pope extended his plea to another source of tension: “These days we are also receiving worrying news of clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan. I raise my plea for an urgent return to dialogue. #LetUsPrayTogether for harmony to prevail in all the world’s conflicts. Only peace, a gift from God, can heal the wounds between peoples.”

The messages come amid heightened international alarm. In the Middle East, the joint US-Israeli attacks against Iran, launched in late February, have rapidly escalated into a regional war with hundreds of deaths—including civilian casualties in schools and residential areas—and Iranian retaliation targeting US bases, Israel, and Gulf allies. The death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has intensified the crisis, while world leaders warn of the nuclear risk and the potential for the conflict to drag on for weeks or months.

Meanwhile, on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan, what began as skirmishes has escalated into an open war declared by Islamabad: Pakistani airstrikes on Kabul, Kandahar, and other Afghan cities in response to Taliban offensives. The exchange of fire has resulted in dozens of casualties and shattered a fragile ceasefire, fueling fears of a larger confrontation between two nations with nuclear arsenals and a history of tension.

While the powers involved assess their next moves and diplomacy struggles to find a way out, the message from the Vatican rings clear: on a planet scarred by multiple wars, concord is not a utopia, but a moral imperative. #LetUsPrayTogether, the Pope urged. The world, once again, listens.