Washington - Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, has issued a direct appeal to President Donald Trump, urging him to step back from the “precipice of war” and open the way to negotiations capable of leading to a just settlement. His words come amid growing concern over a possible intensification of military action, with the risk that civilian infrastructure in Iran could also be targeted.
Coakley spoke in unmistakably clear terms, recalling the moral responsibility borne by those who exercise political and military power. “The threat of destroying a whole civilisation and the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure cannot be morally justified,” he said, adding that there are “other ways to resolve conflict between peoples”. Hence his call for the President of the United States to step back before the human cost rises further. The archbishop’s intervention follows the line of the appeals made by Pope Leo XIV during Holy Week and Easter. Coakley also pointed to the heart of the Christian message of the Resurrection, recalling that the first words spoken by Jesus to the disciples after rising from the dead were: “Peace be with you.” The president of the US bishops linked that directly to the words spoken by the Pontiff in his Easter Urbi et Orbi message, when he invited the faithful to let resound “the cry for peace that springs from our hearts”.
In his appeal, Coakley also renewed the Pope’s invitation to join the prayer vigil for peace called for Saturday 11 April.
The president of the US episcopate called for broad participation, directed in a particular way to bishops, priests, the laity and all those who long for an authentic peace. The invitation is to unite oneself spiritually with the Holy Father, whether by taking part virtually or by praying in parishes, chapels and in the quiet of one’s own heart. The horizon he indicates is one of prayer, but also of public responsibility. Coakley entrusts to the Lord “all hearts that suffer and await the true peace that only he can give”, inviting the faithful to open their hearts to Christ, “the one who makes all things new”. At a time marked by ever more serious international tensions, the archbishop entrusts to the conscience of those in government and to the prayer of the Church one precise appeal: to stop the escalation and choose the path of peace.
Fr.G.B.
Silere non possum