Catholic Leaders on the Iran War

The following is a running list of quotes from statements by Catholic leaders about the Iran War which began on February 28, 2026. We will update this list regularly as new statements emerge.

February 28, 2026 – Pax Christi International

“Peace cannot be imposed through violence and foreign military intervention only deepens human suffering. Today, we stand firm in the name of justice and nonviolence, raising our voice with renewed urgency and moral clarity.”

February 28, 2026 – Franciscan Action Network

“Negotiations are a better way to resolve issues regarding Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, and empirical research shows that strategic nonviolent resistance campaigns are twice as effective as wars or violent revolutions against an authoritarian government.”

February 28, 2026 – Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns

“[We pray] for world leaders, that they stop the bombs and choose diplomacy over destruction and dialogue over retaliation… [We must] stand firm on the path of peace.”

March 1, 2026 – Pope Leo XIV, Angelus Address

“Stability and peace are not built with mutual threats nor with weapons that sow destruction, pain and death, but only through a dialogue that is reasonable, authentic and responsible. I address to the parties involved a heartfelt appeal to assume the moral responsibility of halting the spiral of violence before it becomes an irreparable abyss.”

March 1, 2026 – Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, President of the USCCB

“The growing conflict risks spiraling into a wider regional war. We are faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions. My brother bishops and I unite our voice with our Holy Father and make the heartfelt appeal to all parties involved for diplomacy to regain its proper role.”

March 1, 2026 – Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., Bishop President of Pax Christi USA

“It is critical that members of Congress re-claim their role and provide some restraint on a president who is completely unaccountable for his disastrous decisions. In this Lenten season, may we repent of our sins of violence.”

March 1, 2026 – Caritas Internationalis

“Caritas unequivocally condemns the US and Israel’s attacks on Iran on Saturday, in which they claim to have dropped over 1,200 bombs, and deeply regrets Iran’s retaliatory attacks on Israel and several other countries in the region, including Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. These acts of war increase the tension, violence and instability in the region, jeopardizing prospects of peace, and constitute grave violations of human dignity, the rule of law, and International Law, including the UN Charter and International Humanitarian Law, which protects civilians and non-combatants in conflict.”

March 2, 2026 – Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop of Washington

“The potential disintegration of Iran could well produce new and dangerous realities. And the possibility of immense casualties on all sides is immense. For all of these reasons, Catholic teaching leads to the conclusion that our entry into this war was not morally legitimate.”

March 2, 2026 – Chaldean Catholic Archbishop Bashar M. Warda of Irbil, Iraq

“The Middle East does not need another war. Our children deserve stability. Our families deserve peace. Ordinary people have already paid too high a price for conflicts they did not choose.”

March 3, 2026 – Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace

“Recognizing that violence is an action that never yields healing and reconciliation, we are obligated to name the evil that accompanies war and violence.”

March 3, 2026 – Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates

“As a congregation of Dominican Sisters who seek truth, make peace, and reverence life, we are deeply troubled to see our nation resort to the horrific violence of war to solve disputes – and without authorization by the U.S. Congress as our Constitution requires.”

March 3, 2026 – Sisters of Mercy of the Americas

“The U.S. attack on Iran is a heinous act of aggression, using war and violence to resolve a dispute, rather than seeking nonviolent alternatives.”

March 4, 2026 – Union of International Superiors General

“As consecrated women religious, present in the most fragile contexts of society and close to those who suffer, we cannot remain silent in the face of a spiral of destruction that undermines human dignity and jeopardizes the future of new generations,” says Sr. Roxanne Schares, SSND, Executive Secretary of UISG.

March 4, 2026 – Irish Catholic Bishops Conference

“Yet again, the people of the Middle East are experiencing an unjust war with the loss of innocent lives. War is utterly destructive. In an era of change and readjustment of geopolitical balances and cultural paradigms, war is not the answer. No political leader has the authority to unleash war at will.”

March 5, 2026 – Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd Sisters

“Civilians — especially girls, women, and children — are paying the highest price … We urgently call on global leaders to establish ceasefire safe zones, protect civilians, and step back from the brink of wider conflict by choosing diplomacy over retaliation.”

March 7, 2026 – Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago

“A real war with real death and real suffering being treated like it’s a video game — it’s sickening. Our government is treating the suffering of the Iranian people as a backdrop for our own entertainment.”

March 8, 2026 – Pope Leo XIV, Angelus Address

“In addition to the episodes of violence and devastation as well as the widespread climate of hatred and fear, there is also the concern that the conflict will spread and that other countries in the region, including beloved Lebanon, may again sink back into instability. We lift up our humble prayer to the Lord, so that the thunderous sound of bombs may cease, weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open up in which the voice of the people can be heard.”

March 9, 2026 – Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington

“An analysis of U.S. actions against Iran leads to the conclusion that our entry into this war was not morally legitimate.” … “At this present moment, the U.S. decision to go to war against Iran fails to meet the just war threshold… because our country was not responding to an existing or imminent and objectively verifiable attack.”

March 10, 2026 – Bishop Paolo Martinelli, O.F.M. Cap., Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia — covering the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Yemen

“There is no alternative to dialogue and diplomacy.”

March 15, 2026 – Pope Leo XIV, Angelus Address

“I appeal to those responsible for this conflict: cease fire! May paths of dialogue be reopened!”

March 15, 2026 – Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

“The abuse and manipulation of God’s name to justify this and any other war is the gravest sin we can commit at this time. War is first and foremost political and has very material interests, like most wars.”

March 16, 2026 – Maryknoll Joint Leadership Statement

“We urge those in power to look past the cold logic of military dominance and rediscover the culture of encounter—a way of seeing the ‘other’ not as a target, but as a brother or sister.” … “We believe that true peace is not just a quiet battlefield; it is a vibrant enterprise of justice.”

Photo credit: Stefano Vigorelli – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0