Maryknoll missioners urge a ceasefire in the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict and call for diplomacy and the protection of civilians.
The leadership of Maryknoll missioners has called upon all sides to cease fire in the escalating Middle East conflict that began Feb. 28 when Israeli and United States forces launched attacks on Iran, and to return to the negotiation table.
In the joint statement, the leaders of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers, the Maryknoll Sisters, Maryknoll Lay Missioners and the Maryknoll Affiliates added their voices to “a global chorus” pleading for an end to the violence and a resumption of the “difficult, sacred work” of negotiation.
The mission organizations echo calls from Catholic leaders around the world, including Pope Leo XIV, for an end to the fighting.
Emphasizing the impact of the conflict on innocent civilians, the Maryknoll leadership said: “We mourn every life lost in this spiral of violence, and we feel the trembling of families caught in the crossfire of a war they did not choose.”
The following is the text of the Maryknoll Joint Leadership Statement:
The four organizations of the Maryknoll family — the Sisters, Fathers and Brothers, Lay Missioners and Affiliates — speak today from a place of deep sorrow and shared hope. For over a century, our missioners have crossed borders to accompany communities in the Global South, sitting at the tables of those the world often forgets or disregards. Today, as the shadow of war between the United States, Israel and Iran stretches across the Middle East, we do not see a conflict of “interests” or “assets.” We see the faces of our neighbors. We mourn every life lost in this spiral of violence, and we feel the trembling of families caught in the crossfire of a war they did not choose. We join a global chorus in pleading for a stop to the fire, urging leaders to set aside their weapons and return to the difficult, sacred work of the negotiation table.
In a world increasingly divided by labels, we reject the idea that any nation or people exists outside the circle of our common humanity. When leaders speak of threats to civilization, they risk blinding us all to the truth that we are one human family, bound together by the same joys and the same fragile breath. We believe that true peace is not just a quiet battlefield; it is a vibrant enterprise of justice. It cannot be built upon the ruins of cities or the shattered lives of civilians, for every act of indiscriminate destruction is a wound dealt to the heart of God. We urge those in power to look past the cold logic of military dominance and rediscover the culture of encounter — a way of seeing the “other” not as a target, but as a brother or sister.
As we journey through this season of Lent, a time of reflection and renewal, we are reminded that being a peacemaker is not a passive wish but a courageous choice. We call upon the leaders of the United States, Israel and Iran to make the courageous choice for dialogue over destruction. We advocate for an immediate de-escalation that protects the innocent, a commitment to diplomacy that honors international law, and the swift, unhindered delivery of aid to those whose lives have been upended. Together, as the Maryknoll family, we stand firm in the belief that even in the darkest hour, the path to reconciliation remains open to those who seek it.
Maryknoll Sisters
Maryknoll Lay Missioners
Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers
Maryknoll Affiliates
March 2026
Featured image: A woman sits amid rubble outside her destroyed apartment in Tehran, Iran, March 12, 2026, following an airstrike amid the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. (OSV News/Alaa Al Marjani, Reuters)
