Pope Leo urges international diplomacy to prevent ‘irreparable abyss'
VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo on Sunday said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an 'irreparable abyss,' and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict.US forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself.'Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,' Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims.'No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,' he added.'In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,' Pope Leo said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
30 minutes ago
- Arab News
Pakistan urges OIC to transform its pronouncements on Kashmir into ‘tangible actions'
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's deputy prime minister has urged the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to transform its pronouncements on the disputed Kashmir region into 'tangible actions,' the Pakistani foreign office said on Sunday, following a meeting of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir. The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 51st session of the OIC Council of Foreign Ministers in Istanbul, which came in the backdrop of Israeli military campaign against Iran and Pakistan's recent military conflict with India. While Pakistan's brief standoff with India ended in a ceasefire last month, Israel's attacks on Iran were followed by US airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, raising fears of further instability in an already volatile region. Addressing envoys of OIC member states, Pakistan's deputy premier and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, described New Delhi's actions in Indian-administered Kashmir as a replication of the Israeli designs in Palestine, referring to alleged human rights violations and attempts to change demographics of the disputed Himalayan territory. 'The OIC's pronouncements on Jammu and Kashmir are a major source of support to the Kashmir cause,' Dar said. 'However, in view of the mounting challenges to the Kashmiri struggle, the OIC should transform its pronouncements into tangible actions. The Organization should scale up its efforts for mitigation of the Kashmiri people's sufferings and finding a just settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.' Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from Britain in 1947. Both countries have fought two of their four wars over the disputed region, which is ruled in part but claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan. The latest conflict between the two neighbors was also triggered by a militant attack in Indian-administered Kashmir's Pahalgam resort town, which killed 26 tourists on April 22. India blamed the attack on Pakistan, a charge Islamabad denies. New Delhi has long accused Pakistan of fanning an insurgency on its side of Kashmir. Islamabad denies this and maintains that it only offers moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris. Dar said Indian authorities exploited the Pahalgam attack to launch a massive crackdown in Kashmir. 'There are reports that over 2800 Kashmiris were arrested or questioned in the immediate aftermath of the attack,' he said. 'The draconian Public Safety Act was slapped on at least 75 of them. The police carried out extensive searches at multiple residences of the locals. Around three dozen houses were razed to ground through the use of explosives.' The Pakistani deputy PM said the disturbing developments in Indian-administered Kashmir have once again shown that a peaceful settlement of the Kashmir dispute is imperative for a lasting peace in South Asia. 'The region is home to over one-fifth of the world population. It could ill-afford the consequences of irresponsible Indian actions,' he said, urging the OIC and its members to use their influence to urge India to improve the human rights situation, release political prisoners and implement relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Arab News
37 minutes ago
- Arab News
Israeli authorities arrest four Al-Aqsa guards, storm old prayer hall
LONDON: Israeli authorities arrested four guards at the Al-Aqsa Mosque during a search raid on Saturday night inside the compound's old prayer hall. The Jerusalem Governorate, affiliated with the Palestinian Authority, said that the detainees were identified as Mohammad Arbash, Ramzi Al-Zaanin, Basem Abu Juma, and Iyad Odeh. Several other guards and a firefighter in the compound were interrogated at the site by Israelis, the Wafa news agency reported. Just after midnight on Saturday, Israeli forces stormed the old prayer hall at Al-Aqsa, a subterranean area beneath the Qibli Mosque, damaging its contents after breaking into storage cabinets and searching the premises, Wafa added. The governorate said the latest Israeli action was part of efforts to assert control over the mosque's administration and undermine the authority of the Islamic Waqf Department in Jerusalem. After less than a week of complete closure under a state of emergency linked to the ongoing war with Iran, the Al-Aqsa Mosque was reopened by Israeli authorities, allowing Palestinian and other Muslim worshippers to enter the site under strict regulations, Wafa reported.
Asharq Al-Awsat
38 minutes ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
US Urges China to Dissuade Iran from Closing Strait of Hormuz
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Rubio's comments on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo" show came after Iran's Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and gas flows. "I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil," said Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser, Reuters reported. "If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It's economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries' economies a lot worse than ours." Rubio said a move to close the strait would be a massive escalation that would merit a response from the US and others.
