March 1, 2026 — Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement, condemns the horrific bombing of Iran by the US and Israel, and we urge our nation’s leaders to stop the violence. As we recall the words from the daily readings of February 28, when the gospel reminds us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48), our hearts break for the loss of life and the extraordinary damage being inflicted not only on the people of Iran but also communities throughout the region who are affected by retaliatory strikes.
Since our movement’s founding in Europe at the end of World War II by Catholics who had suffered the terror and trauma of war, Pax Christi has opposed war and all preparations for war. We do not endorse warmaking as a solution for any political or social dispute, but we demand that Congress exercise its responsibility and pass a War Powers Act immediately in order to block this immoral and unconstitutional action.
“It is critical that members of Congress re-claim their role and provide some restraint on a president who is completely unaccountable for his disastrous decisions,” said Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv., bishop president of Pax Christi USA. “In this Lenten season, may we repent of our sins of violence.”
“This unauthorized act of aggression is a perpetuation of the administration’s devaluation of human life,” said Pax Christi USA Executive Director Charlene Howard. “It is paramount that if true and lasting peace is to be achieved, that nonviolent interventions be prioritized in order to safeguard the lives of Iranian women, children and men, and all residents of the region.”
We also urge our Catholic bishops to use their moral authority to demand our country’s leaders to hold the Trump administration accountable for its actions. As Cardinals Blase Cupich, Robert McElroy, and Joseph Tobin wrote in January 2026, “The balancing of national interest with the common good is being framed within starkly polarized terms. Our country’s moral role in confronting evil around the world, sustaining the right to life and human dignity, and supporting religious liberty are all under examination. And the building of just and sustainable peace, so crucial to humanity’s well-being now and in the future, is being reduced to partisan categories that encourage polarization and destructive policies.”
These attacks on Iran by the US and Israel are catastrophic – they will profoundly undermine any attempt at diplomacy and peacebuilding. As Pope Leo XIV said during his Angelus address today, “Stability and peace are not achieved through mutual threats, nor through the use of weapons, which sow destruction, suffering, and death, but only through reasonable, sincere, and responsible dialogue.”
We pray for an end to the violence, a cessation of the bombing, and for an embrace of nonviolent solutions that affirm the autonomy and human rights of the people of Iran and the Middle East.
See also:
- Pax Christi International Declaration on the recent military strikes in Iran
- Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP) issues statement on Israeli-US attacks on Iran
- Prayer and action to stop war with Iran – Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns
- September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows statement on the attacks on Iran
Thank you for this unequivocal statement. The actions of the Trump Administration sometimes are associated with ideologies of Christian Nationalism and Christian Zionism. However, with so many practicing, devout Roman Catholics who are part of both the Trump Administration and the SCOTUS, it is the responsibility of other Roman Catholics to speak out to correct the unwise and misguided actions of those who are failing to see Christ in others to the point of killing them. In this season of repentance, I hope that the United States Catholic Bishops Conference will have some self-reflection and realize that the myopic focus on “abortion” as the preeminent voting issue (which was untrue and imbalanced) paved the way to empowering the policies and actions of the Trump Administration.
The palpitating question is whether or not the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops will straightforwardly condemn the choice of murderous violence vis-à-vis Iran. Sadly, they won’t, for the same reason they chose deafening silence during the extermination of Gaza, namely, fear of appearing anti-Israel, and by extension, anti-Semitic. Today, the second Sunday of Lent, dioceses across our land invoked prayers for our troops. Has anyone heard of prayers from the altar for the little girls bombed to death in the Koranic school on the Strait of Hormuz?
Of course not. Big Brother’s AIPAC (American Israeli Public Affairs Committee) is watching you. So let’s receive the Eucharist and dance to the death of the Ayatollah and the destruction of yet another Near Eastern nation.
Unhopefully,
David-Ross Gerling, PhD
Awaken people of the West, including Israel.
Christianity is NOT the ONE TRUE religion.
There are many Paths of returning to our Creator.
There are many Enlightened people of all beliefs..
Awaken Jewish people and Israel – we are not
the “ Chosen People .” An All-Loving Creator does not have favorites.
Awaken America and Israel – we are Bullies. Let us truly return to God and Peace.
Apprciate your clear, positive critical voice in this One-Man instigated Trump-Epstein War and calling us to request Congress to take its rightful position in authorization or not, of political concerns affecting all humanity. Naturally, your reference to us, as brs./sis., to each other denounces war as solution to any conflict. With certainty, peaceful agreement in conflict is obtainable with people of belief in a Higher Power, as well as their cognizance to inborn seed of life which all humans are gifted through their very human nature.
Your unified voice is supportive to us as we follow in conscience the inner call entrusted us to put into action an effort that brings peace to us all – us and they, we and them, them and those, etc.
Sister Mary Louise Szerpicki, ssj-tosf 3/11/26
marylouiseszerpicki@hotmail.com