The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, issued a stark warning on Wednesday about the escalating threat of nuclear war.
Addressing participants in the XII Colloquium between the Dicastery for Interreligious Dialogue and the ‘Centre for Interreligious & Intercultural Dialogue’ from Tehran, the Pope painted a grim picture of a world “divided and rent by hatred, hostility, wars, and the threat of a nuclear conflict.”
His call resonated deeply as global tensions mount, particularly in the wake of developments in Ukraine.
The Argentine pontiff urged followers of all faiths to unite in “prayer and work for dialogue, reconciliation, peace, security, and the integral development of all humanity.”
His words came at a critical juncture, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent decree lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.
This decision came in response to the United States’ greenlighting of Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles against military targets inside Russia.
Later that day, during his weekly general audience, Pope Francis reflected on the prolonged war in Ukraine, which has now crossed the 1,000-day mark since Russia launched its invasion in February 2022. He described the ongoing conflict as a “shameful disaster for the whole of humanity.”
The Pope underscored the importance of perseverance, urging the global community not to grow indifferent or discouraged by the scale of the suffering.
Instead, he called on people to continue “standing alongside the martyred Ukrainian people” and to champion efforts toward peace, emphasizing the need for “weapons to give way to dialogue and combat to encounter.”
A poignant moment during the audience was the attendance of Ukrainian First Lady Olena Zelenska, the wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Her presence served as a somber reminder of the human cost of the conflict and the urgent need for international solidarity in the pursuit of peace.
