WASHINGTON (OSV News): The United States bombed three nuclear facilities in Iran, on June 21 in a move that comes amid repeated pleas from Pope Leo XIV and other Church leaders for peace and dialogue in ending multiple conflicts throughout the world, including that between Israel and Iran.
US president, Donald Trump, announced that the US military had carried out “massive, precision strikes on the three key nuclear facilities in the Iranian regime.”
Speaking from the White House, Trump said the objective was “the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror.”
He said, “Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier. … There will either be peace or there will be tragedy for Iran, far greater than we have witnessed over the last eight days.”
The sites named by Trump in his late night address were Fordo, a key uranium enrichment facility located more than 80nmetres below ground; Natanz, an enrichment facility previously targeted by Israel as part of its Operation Rising Lion; and Isfahan, a research facility also struck earlier by Israel.
The US used, in particular, the B-2 Stealth Bomber to drop GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator the “bunker buster” bombs.
May diplomacy silence the weapons! May nations chart their futures with works of peace, not with violence and bloodstained conflicts!
Pope Leo XIV
Following the strikes, Iran’s foreign minister. Abbas Araghchi. posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that his nation “reserves all options” to retaliate, warning the US attack would have “everlasting consequences.”
In remarks following his June 22 Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV said, “Alarming news continues to emerge from the Middle East, especially from Iran. Today more than ever, humanity cries out and calls for peace.”
Pope Leo, “This is a cry that requires responsibility and reason, and it must not be drowned out by the din of weapons or the rhetoric that incites conflict. Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable chasm. There are no ‘distant’ conflicts when human dignity is at stake.”
Moments after Trump’s June 21 media address, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, and president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, said in a statement, “With all men and women of goodwill, we beg Almighty God to end the proliferation of acts of war and to inspire dialogue before more innocent people are harmed.”
Archbishop Broglio said, “My heart goes out to all victims and also to those whose lives are in danger. Let us beg the Prince of Peace for an end to hostilities.”
One priest in Israel, whose name and location is not identified for safety reasons, said, “The response from Iran after the US attack … has been more intense.”
The US strikes have increased rising fears of a wider regional war breaking out.
My heart goes out to all victims and also to those whose lives are in danger. Let us beg the Prince of Peace for an end to hostilities
Archbishop Timothy Broglio
United Nations secretary general, Antonio Guterres, said in a June 21 post on the X, formerly known as Twitter, that he was “gravely alarmed” by Trump’s use of force, which marked a “dangerous escalation in a region already on the edge” and “a direct threat to international peace and security.”
He called for de-escalation and the rule of international law, warning, “At this perilous hour, it is critical to avoid a spiral of chaos.” He stressed, “There is no military solution. The only path forward is diplomacy. The only hope is peace.”
Pope Leo echoed those thoughts in his June 22 Angelus remarks, saying, “War does not solve problems; on the contrary, it amplifies them and inflicts deep wounds on the history of peoples, which take generations to heal. No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, or stolen futures.”
The pope said, “May diplomacy silence the weapons! May nations chart their futures with works of peace, not with violence and bloodstained conflicts!”
Iran confirmed the strikes, but officials claimed to have evacuated uranium and equipment from the Fordo site and said the damage was “not irreversible.”
