Pope Leo urges US and Iran to return to negotiations, calls for ‘culture of peace’

Pope Leo XIV urged the United States and Iran to return to negotiations Thursday, calling for a new “culture of peace” to replace recourse to violence whenever conflicts arise.

Pope Leo told reporters aboard his plane ahead of heading back to Rome that the question wasn’t whether the Iranian regime should change.

“The question should be about how to promote the values we believe in without the deaths of so many innocents,” he said.

“As a pastor, I cannot be in favor of war,” he told reporters.

“I would like to encourage everyone to find responses that come from a culture of peace and not hatred and division.”

At a press conference, the pope also responded to questuins over Iran killing thousands of protesters, Reuters reported.

“I condemn all actions that are unjust. I condemn the taking of people’s lives,” the pope said.

This came after President Donald Trump criticized the Catholic leader for not doing so when he spoke out against the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.