The president of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference called for peace in the Middle East.
“The Australian Catholic Bishops Conference joins Pope Leo XIV and many world leaders in expressing deep alarm at the escalating violence now engulfing the Middle East,” said Archbishop Timothy Costelloe, S.D.B., the conference’s president. “The loss of life and the fear and uncertainty experienced by ordinary people and the destabilization of an already fragile region weigh heavily on our hearts.”
He added:
Above all, we pray for the innocent: for those already killed, for the injured and traumatized, for families separated or displaced and for communities living in fear. We pray too for leaders at every level: that their decisions be grounded in respect for human dignity, the common good and solidarity with the suffering.
We ask all people of faith and goodwill in Australia to join us in praying for peace and the healing of a region that has suffered too much for too long.