“On behalf of the Christians of the Middle East and all people of goodwill, I appeal to those responsible for this conflict,” Leo said. “Cease fire so that avenues for dialogue may be reopened. Violence can never lead to the justice, stability, and peace that people are waiting for.”

Although he did not explicitly name the United States or Israel in his remarks following the Sunday noon blessing, the first American pope referenced attacks on civilian targets, including a strike on a school—an apparent allusion to an early missile attack in Iran that killed more than 165 people, many of them children.