Archbishop Coakley calls for restraint, diplomacy, and peace as hostilities escalate in Middle East

The escalating conflict in the Middle East has drawn a strong call for peace from Archbishop Paul S. Coakley, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), who issued an urgent statement calling on the United States, Iran, and the international community to “return to dialogue and pursue every avenue for a just and lasting peace.”

Coakley issued the statement on March 1 as joint U.S.-Israeli military strikes on Iran entered their second day.

“My brother bishops and I unite our voice with our Holy Father and make the heartfelt appeal to all parties involved for diplomacy to regain its proper role,” he wrote.

“The growing conflict risks spiraling into a wider regional war,” Coakley stated. “As the Holy Father has warned, we are faced with the possibility of a tragedy of immense proportions.”

Echoing Pope Leo XIV’s appeal during his March 1 Angelus address warning that continued violence could create a “spiral of violence” leading to “an unbridgeable chasm,” Coakley emphasized restraint, multilateral diplomacy, and protection of innocent lives.

He called for “a return to multilateral diplomatic engagement that seeks to uphold the ‘well-being of peoples, who yearn for peaceful existence founded on justice.’ All nations, international bodies, and partners committed to peace must exert every effort to prevent further escalation.”

“At this critical moment, I invite Catholics and all people of goodwill to continue our ardent prayers for peace in the Middle East, for the safety of our troops and the innocent, that leaders may seek dialogue over destruction and pursue the common good over the tragedy of war. We implore the intercession of our Blessed Mother, Mary, Queen of Peace, to pray for our troubled world and for a lasting peace,” the archbishop wrote.

On Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel launched extensive airstrikes across Iran, targeting military installations, ballistic missile facilities, naval assets, and key leadership sites.

The operation resulted in the confirmed death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei along with other high-ranking officials and significant civilian casualties; as reported by the Associated Press, Iranian state TV said over 200 people have been killed with over 700 injured.

The White House described the campaign, called Operation Epic Fury, as “a precise, overwhelming military campaign to eliminate the imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime, destroy its ballistic missile arsenal, degrade its proxy terror networks, and cripple its naval forces.”

President Donald Trump said in a speech on Feb. 28 of the “mass terror” that has resulted from Iran’s support of terrorist groups: “We’re not going to put up with it any longer.”

Trump said Iran’s nuclear missile program would be “totally annihilated” and the campaign was “ahead of schedule” and could last several weeks.

In retaliation, Iran launched waves of missiles and drones targeting Israel, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens and central regions — and U.S. military bases in Gulf countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan.

At least three American service members have been killed and several more wounded, according to the Pentagon and U.S. Central Command. Explosions continued in Tehran and other sites, with Israel conducting fresh strikes on March 1, amid regional disruptions including flight cancellations and heightened alerts.