Pope Leo XIV denounced the “violent conflict [that] seems to be raging in the Christian East with a diabolical intensity previously unknown” and said the Christians of the West must do more to help the Christians of the East, especially those suffering in Ukraine, Gaza and other places in the Middle East.

Aware of the deep concern this new act of violence has caused among Christians in this part of the world, Pope Leo offered these words of assurance: “I say to the Christians of the Middle East: I am close to you! The whole church is close to you!”

“Let diplomacy silence the guns!” Pope Leo XIV told the crowd in St. Peter’s Square a few hours after the United States entered the Iran-Israel war by bombing three of Iran’s nuclear sites.

Pope Leo XIV’s statement was read at the premiere of a play about the Peruvian investigative journalist Paola Ugaz, who was subject to death threats because of her reporting on sexual abuse.

Pope Leo XIV renewed his “appeal for peace” in an interview after a surprise visit to the Vatican Radio Center.

Pope Leo XIV called on world leaders to reject the temptation to use “powerful and sophisticated weapons,” as President Donald J. Trump aired the possibility of using massive bombs to destroy Iran’s Fordo nuclear fuel enrichment plant.

Pope Leo called for a “commitment to build a world that is safer and free from the nuclear threat.”

The Holy Spirit "writes in our hearts before all else the commandment of love that the Lord has made the center and summit of everything,” the pope said.

Pope Leo told his ecumenical audience: “By celebrating together this Nicene faith and by proclaiming it together, we will also advance towards the restoration of full communion among us.”

Pope Leo and Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke together by phone today, June 4, for the first time, the Kremlin said.