ToplinePope Leo XIV warned “attacks on civilian infrastructure is against international law,” responding to President Donald Trump’s earlier threat to kill “a whole civilization,” the latest in Catholic church leaders’ loud rebuke to U.S. attacks in Iran. President Donald Trump holds a Press Conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on April 6, 2026, in Washington DC, United States. (Photo by Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)Anadolu via Getty ImagesKey FactsLeo, in comments to reporters outside his residence in Castel Gandolfo, Italy, called Trump’s threat “truly unacceptable” and urged people to “reject war, especially a war in which many people have said is an unjust war, which is continuing to escalate, and which is not resolving anything.”Leo said the parties should “look for solutions in a peaceful way,” adding, “all attacks on civilian infrastructure is against international law.”Earlier Tuesday, Trump warned “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” if Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz by the 8 p.m. deadline he set. Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, leader of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, called on Trump “to step back from the precipice of war” in a statement that said, “the threat of destroying a whole civilization and the intentional targeting of civilian infrastructure cannot be morally justified.”On Easter Sunday, Trump, in an expletive-filled post, issued the initial threat and set the Tuesday deadline, telling Iranians they’ll “be living in Hell” if they don’t reopen the strait, and seemed to mock the country’s Muslim faith, saying “Praise be to Allah.”Leo, in his first Easter mass, seemed to urge political leaders, specifically Trump, to “choose peace…through dialogue.”TangentArchbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services, told “CBS News Sunday Morning,” that “I think war is always a last resort” and “it’s hard to cast this war as something that would be sponsored by the Lord” when asked about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth invoking Jesus when speaking about the war. Hegseth said at a Pentagon Christian worship service last month: “Let every round find its mark against the enemies of righteousness and our great nation. Give them wisdom in every decision, endurance for the trial ahead, unbreakable unity, and overwhelming violence of action against those who deserve no mercy.”Key BackgroundLeo has made several comments rebuking war since the U.S. attacked Iran, calling the conflict “atrocious” during Palm Sunday mass and saying that Jesus “rejects war” and “does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war.” On March 1, the day after the U.S. launched its initial wave of strikes, Leo said the “spiral of violence” could become “an unbridgeable chasm.” On March 15, he said, “the peoples of the Middle East have been suffering the horrific violence of war,” adding, “thousands of innocent people have been killed, and countless others have been forced to flee their homes.” Leo also appeared to criticize Trump after the U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, condemning “diplomacy based on force” and “zeal for war” during his annual address in January at the Vatican. He called “escalating tensions in the Caribbean Sea and along the American Pacific Coast . . . a cause for serious concerns,” an apparent reference to the U.S. military’s attacks on suspected drug-carrying vessels there. Further ReadingIran Warns It Will Retaliate If Trump Carries Out ‘Egregious War Crimes’ And ‘Potentially Genocide’ (Live Updates) (Forbes)Why Trump’s Bombing Of Iran’s Infrastructure Would Likely Be A War Crime (Forbes)Trump Escalates Iran Threats: ‘Could Be Taken Out In One Night — And That Night Might Be Tomorrow’ (Forbes)