By the rivers of Babylon There we sat down, Yeah, we wept When we remembered Zion… when the wicked Carried us away in captivity Required from us a song Now how shall we sing the Lord’s song In a strange land? Boney M (1978)
The Israel/U.S. – Iran war is a month old, and if our prayer is not heard it could drag on for more days, if not months, or even years.
As Catholics, we were tickled when we heard Pope Leo, the first U.S. Pope, say: “…violence will not bring the justice, stability and peace that the people in the region long for… they are (rather) suffering the atrocious violence of war… In the name of Christians in the Middle East and of all women and men of goodwill, I appeal to those responsible for conflict: Cease fire!”
The Pope made these remarks at the Angelus prayer in St Peter’s Square, Rome. The Angelus (Latin for angel) Prayer is the traditional Roman Catholic devotion commemorating the incarnation, recited at 6:00 am, noon, 6:00 pm. The Prayer involves three sets of versicles ( little verses: biblical sentences by the officiant) and responses by the congregation.
The Pope chose last week’s Angelus (Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae Et concepit de Spiritu Sancto… Ave Maria gratia plena… Dominus tecum) to preach dialogue, peace, and warn against violence: “I hope for paths of dialogue that can support the country’s authorities in implementing lasting solutions to the serious crisis currently underway, for the common good of all the people.” He was conscious the situation in Lebanon, ravaged by war between
Israel and the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.
The Pope made a proclamation to the effect that war could never resolve conflicts and also charged at people who invoke the name of God (Allah) to justify killings. In a homily, he stated: “Today, many of our brothers and sisters in the world are suffering because of violent conflicts, caused by absurd claim that problems and disagreements can be resolved through war when instead we must engage in unceasing dialogue for peace… Some even go so far as to invoke the name of God to justify these choices of death, but God cannot be enlisted by darkness. Rather, He always comes to bring light, hope and peace to humanity.”
Countries choose the Presidents they want, and Brian Tyler says: “Netanyahu waited 40 years to find an American President stupid enough and reckless enough to start a war with Iran. He exposes the shifting lies and the tragic murder of Iranian school girls.”
Since 2016, Trump has often opposed to the U.S. being tagged as “policeman of the world”. To him, it should rather be “America first” or rather America should position itself in “rent-a-cop” Again, he has complained about the U.S. investing so much in international organisations like NATO while allies do not pay their fair share. He has changed his criticism of NATO as “obsolete” to “no longer obsolete” He noted; “We’re spending tremendous amounts of money for decades policing the world, and that shouldn’t be the priority. We want to police ourselves and we want to rebuild our country…”
Trump was close to going round “cap in hand” to whip up support for NATO and other allies for a fight on Iran to get the Strait of Hormuz rid of Iranian control —to free that part of the Indian Ocean for a smooth flow of passage for ships — to aid international trade.
The whole world is sitting on a time-bomb. Some of the seeds of World War 1 and World War 2 are here with us — extreme nationalism, aggressive militarism (massive military buildups), entangling alliance systems, (Triple Entente v Triple Alliance) a failure of international diplomacy to resolve conflicts. (the Treaty of Versailles with harsh terms — War Guilt Clause) No, do not talk of World War 3. It is too frightening to even contemplate!
Donald Trump was inviting European leaders to help ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The German Defence Minister, Boris Pistorius noted; “There will be no military participation from Germany. This is not our war, we have not started it…” And the German Chancellor, Friedrich Merz, speaking through the spokesperson, Stefan Kornelius said emphatically: “The NATO is an alliance for the defence of territory…” And in Britain, a NATO member, Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated; “Let me be clear: that won’t be, and it’s never been envisioned to be, a NATO mission… U.K. will not be drawn into the wider war…” The Danish Foreign Minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen urged EU to keep “an open mind” — stressing “…We must face the world as it is, not as we want it to be… the EU must decide on a plan with a view towards de-escalation…”
On Monday, 15th March, 2026, Trump was critical of countries not heeding to the call to unblock the waterway in the Strait of Hormuz. He noted; “Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren’t. Some are countrie that we’ve helped for many, many years. We’ve protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren’t that enthusiastic…”
Ever since the creation of the State of Israel on May 14, 1948 per the UN Resolution 181 (1947) the area which was once Palestine has known little or no peace. David Ben – Gurion announced the establishment of the State of Israel in Tel Aviv which coincided with the end of the British Mandate. This led to the displacement of Palestinians starting the “Nakba” (Catastrophe) day of 15th May.
Did anyone think that the killing of Iran’s Supreme leader, Ayatolla Ali Khamenei on 28th February 2026 or the powerful secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, would “quieten” Iran? Abbas Araghchi posits. I do not know why the Americans and the Israelis still have not understood this point: The Islamic Republic of Iran has a strong political structure with established political, economic, and social institutions. The presence or absence of a single individual does not affect this structure… individuals are influential, and each person plays their role – some better, some worse, some less – but what matters is that the political system in Iran is a very solid structure …if anyone is martyred… there would ultimately be someone else to take the position.” And Joe Kent, long-time Trump supporter and decorated veteran of the US army, a top counter-terrorism official has resigned over the war, urging President Trump to “reverse course”.
We are yet to believe any one who tells us Israel enjoys the same now as she had in 1948 after the 6 million Jews had suffered torture and murder under Hitler’s and the world was looking for a place for the wandering Jews, some boarded ships and went around the world.
At that time, UK had authority overthe Mandatory Palestine after the World War I. while the 1948 Arab – Israeli War (Arabs: Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq) whilst hundreds of thousands Palestinians fled their homes, over 250,000 Jews fled or were expelled from surrounding Arab states and moved to Israel, Israelis will quote the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:18-21; 17:8) – the foundational promise from God to Abraham and his descendants that is the “Promised Land” from the river of Egypt to the Euphrates.
But have we heard the Palestinian side of the story? Palestinians living in Israel seek rights equal to Jewish citizens; those in the West Bank and Gaza Strip seek an end to the Israeli Military’s domination; they generally seek freedom and national self-determination… Be fair in your analysis and judgment!
