{"id":44740,"date":"2026-03-31T12:03:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T12:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/44740\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T12:03:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T12:03:23","slug":"archbishop-of-tehran-end-war-in-the-gulf-end-logic-of-retaliation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/44740\/","title":{"rendered":"Archbishop of Tehran: End war in the Gulf, end logic of retaliation"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a prayer vigil for peace in Rome at the beginning of Holy Week, the Archbishop of Teheran appeals for peace for all war-torn regions, with a special plea for the Middle East and the Holy Land.<\/p>\n

By Valerio Palombaro<\/p>\n

The urgent call for peace in a world torn by multiple conflicts resounded on the evening of Monday of Holy Week at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme in Rome. The prayer vigil, presided over by the Cardinal Vicar of the Diocese of Rome, Baldassarre Reina, was marked by the presence of the Archbishop of the Latin Archdiocese of Tehran-Isfahan, Dominique Joseph Mathieu.<\/p>\n

\u201cNever again war, an adventure with no return; never again war, a spiral of mourning and violence,\u201d said Cardinal Mathieu, echoing passages from a prayer uttered by Saint John Paul II on 2 February 1991. The cardinal invoked God\u2019s intercession for the end of the war ravaging the Gulf region, after having been compelled to leave the Iranian capital on 8 March.<\/p>\n

\u201cStop the logic of retaliation and revenge,\u201d he prayed, \u201cand through your Spirit suggest new solutions, generous and honourable gestures, spaces for dialogue and patient waiting, more fruitful than the rushed deadlines of war.\u201d<\/p>\n

Forgotten conflicts and the wounded Holy Land <\/p>\n

The evening prayer is part of a monthly initiative entitled\u00a0\u201cMission of Peace \u2013 A Journey in the Spirit\u201d.\u00a0It is promoted by the Diocesan Missionary Centre and the Office for Social and Labour Pastoral Care of the Diocese of Rome, in collaboration with Pax Christi, Azione Cattolica, and the Community of Sant’Egidio. \u00a0Attention was also shone on the so-called \u201cforgotten conflicts\u201d devastating parts of the world, including eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan.<\/p>\n

Particular focus, however, was placed on the Holy Land and the wider Middle East. A measure of relief was expressed regarding the decision of the Israeli authorities to allow Holy Week celebrations to take place in Jerusalem\u00a0 – albeit under security restrictions linked to the war. An agreement was reached after access to the Holy Sepulchre had been denied on Sunday to the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, and to the Custos of the Holy Land, Father Francesco Ielpo.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

\n The prayer vigil at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme\n <\/p>\n

\u201cSo many innocent people are being crucified\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are close to the Iranian people and to all those who are suffering at this moment,\u201d Cardinal Reina told journalists on the sidelines of the event.<\/p>\n

And referring to the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, where the vigil was being held, he said, \u201cThis church preserves one of the most important relics of the Cross of Christ,\u201d adding that \u00a0\u201cHistory repeats itself, and there are so many innocent people being crucified. The Pope calls all Christians to pray for peace. This is a dramatic moment for all humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abandoning violence: the lesson of history <\/p>\n

\u201cViolence produces only more violence,\u201d Cardinal Reina said in his meditation, asking: \u201cHow can humanity not have learned this basic lesson of history?\u201d<\/p>\n

The Cardinal Vicar observed that the world has \u201clost peace\u201d and is moving \u201ctowards the absurd,\u201d towards \u201crearmament that carries the taste of death.\u201d<\/p>\n

He expressed appreciation for the presence of Cardinal Mathieu, who joined the prayer together with that of his people and of all peoples marked by war.<\/p>\n

\u201cJesus is among those who suffer,\u201d he said, recalling Christ\u2019s crucifixion between two criminals. \u201cHe who came to bring peace is found in the middle, as if to reveal a God who enters into our history, into our suffering, in the hope that someone will recognise Him and bring peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHelp us to recover peace,\u201d Cardinal Reina concluded, stressing that peace is ultimately not the result of \u201cdiplomatic choice or strategy,\u201d but is Christ himself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At a prayer vigil for peace in Rome at the beginning of Holy Week, the Archbishop of Teheran…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44741,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[18655,10780,34,49,2405,18654,8747,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-44740","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tehran","8":"tag-democratic-republic-of-the-congo","9":"tag-holy-land","10":"tag-iran","11":"tag-middle-east","12":"tag-peace","13":"tag-prayer","14":"tag-sudan","15":"tag-tehran"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@iran\/116323693661997446","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44740","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44740"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44740\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44741"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44740"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44740"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44740"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}