Five minutes. That’s how much time passed between Todd Leonard’s last meeting with Father Arul Carasala and the moment Leonard found the priest fatally wounded outside his own rectory in Seneca on April 3, 2025.

Pope Leo XIV welcomed the newly announced ceasefire in the Middle East as “a sign of genuine hope” after what he described as “hours of extreme tension,” while urging a return to negotiations and calling the faithful to prayer.

President Donald Trump on April 7 backed down from his threat to wipe out Iran’s “whole civilization,” citing negotiations with Pakistani mediators.

Pope Leo urges citizens to call on leaders to reject war after ‘unacceptable’ Trump Iran threat

President Donald Trump threatened a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not make a deal by 8 p.m. EDT on April 7 — a statement that drew a stark rebuke within hours from the leader of the U.S. Catholic bishops, who invoked Pope Leo XIV’s recent appeals for peace as he called on the president “to step back from the precipice.”

President Donald Trump threatened a “whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not make a deal by 8 p.m. EDT on April 7. His comments come as Pope Leo XVI has urgently called for peace and set up a prayer vigil for April 11, the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday.

As the astronauts of NASA’s first crewed lunar flyby in half a century reached their closest approach to the moon, the team’s pilot reminded the Earth of Jesus Christ’s command to love both God and neighbor.

Pope Leo XIV sent Easter greetings to Catholics in Gaza as they celebrate Easter amid the fear and uncertainty of war, said Father Gabriel Romanelli, pastor of Holy Family Parish.

President Donald Trump on Easter threatened major strikes on Iran’s energy and transportation infrastructure if its leaders do not cooperate with his demand to open the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica on Easter, Pope Leo XIV delivered a passionate appeal for peace, declaring that the power of the risen Christ is “entirely nonviolent” and calling on world leaders to lay down their weapons and choose dialogue over domination.