(OSV News) -- A U.S. bishop called for ardent prayer and robust diplomacy, as Israel and Iran traded strikes for the fourth day.
"We urge the United States and the broader international community to exert every effort to renew a multilateral diplomatic engagement for the attainment of a durable peace between Israel and Iran," said Bishop A. Elias Zaidan, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on International Justice and Peace, in a June 16 statement.
The plea comes as hostilities between Israel and Iran -- preceded by decades of tension and occasional clashes -- threaten to become a wider regional conflict.
On June 13, Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion," targeting nuclear and military sites and personnel. Israeli officials said the strikes were preemptive, citing rapid advances in Iran's nuclear weapons development and that nation's repeated threats to eliminate Israel.
In recent weeks, the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency had warned that Iran had increased its enriched uranium production. On June 12, the IAEA condemned Iran for violating its nonproliferation obligations -- the first time in close to two decades -- and passed a resolution as such.
Iran -- which claimed the strikes had also killed civilians -- has retaliated with ballistic missile attacks on Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and central Israel.
Both sides have sustained casualties, with Israel reporting 24 killed so far and Iran stating that at least 224 have been slain. A sixth round of diplomatic talks in Oman between the U.S. and Iran on the latter's nuclear program have since been shelved, with Iran's foreign ministry refusing to participate until Israel halts its strikes, and describing the U.S. as "the biggest supporter and accomplice of the aggressor."
Bishop Zaidan, who heads the Maronite Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon, warned in his statement that "the further proliferation of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, as well as this escalation of violence, imperils the fragile stability remaining in the region."
He also echoed the words of Cardinal Dominique Joseph Mathieu of Tehran and Isfahan, Iran, who told Asia News, "We pray that peace through dialogue based on a consensus will prevail. May the Holy Spirit guide this process."
With Iran counting some 22,000 Latin-rite Catholics amid its population of 84 million, the cardinal has previously said the Christian community, which includes faithful of the Chaldean and Armenian traditions. there is defined by "the cross and hope."
"In the midst of this escalation, Pope Leo XIV has reminded us that 'It is the duty of all countries to support the cause of peace by initiating paths of reconciliation and promoting solutions that guarantee security and dignity for all,'" said Bishop Zaidan in his statement. "I call on Catholics and all men and women of goodwill in the United States and around the world to ardently pray for an end to hostilities in the Middle East. May the Prince of Peace move the hearts and illumine the minds of all for the attainment of peace in the region."
