Baltimore archbishop says escalating Iran war is not 'morally justified'

Luke Parker, The Baltimore Sun on Apr 8, 2026

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BALTIMORE — As the United States’ and Israel’s 40-day war on Iran entered its first ceasefire Tuesday, Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori condemned the antagonism that propelled it and urged prayers for peace.

“At a time when the threat of expanded conflict and the suffering of innocent lives weigh heavily upon the conscience of the world, we are reminded that the deliberate targeting of civilians and the escalation of war can never be morally justified,” Lori said in a statement.

President Donald Trump announced the two-week ceasefire of Operation Epic Fury several hours after threatening to end Iran’s “whole civilization” — a remark that led Pakistani and even Chinese intermediaries to try and ease tensions, two unnamed officials told the Associated Press.

After receiving the archbishop’s statements, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly accused the Iranian regime of committing “egregious human rights abuses” against its citizens for decades and indiscriminately targeting civilians in its region throughout this year’s conflict.

“The President will always stand with innocent civilians while annihilating the terrorists responsible for threatening our country and the entire world with a nuclear weapon,” Kelly said. “Greater destruction can be avoided if the regime understands the seriousness of this moment and makes a deal with the United States.”

From the onset of the war, a February bombing that killed the country’s supreme leader, Trump has boasted that the U.S. and Israel’s combined forces could pummel Iran into submission. His threat this week came after an explicit demand Easter Sunday for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for oil supplies that Iran has blocked for weeks.

Estimates on how many people have been killed in Iran and Lebanon during this conflict vary between humanitarian groups and news publications, with some suggesting nearly 4,000 between the two countries and others reporting around 3,500 in Iran alone.

This week, Pope Leo XIV decried the president’s claim that a “whole civilization will die” as truly unacceptable — another direct criticism against Trump from history’s first U.S.-born pope.

Lori, who’s led the Archdiocese of Baltimore since 2012, affirmed Tuesday’s diplomacy but said peace begins from within. He encouraged all of the diocese’s parishes to “become places of light in a darkened world.”

“In the face of fear, division, and violence, we must become witnesses to a different way — the way of prayer, solidarity, and sacrificial love,” Lori said.

A Vigil for Peace will take place Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore.

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