Israel–Iran Conflict and Holy Sites

Pope Leo XIV, in his first Easter Mass homily delivered from an open‑air altar in St. Peter’s Square adorned with white roses and spring perennials, urged nonviolent hope — saying “the power with which Christ rose is entirely nonviolent” and that it “does not seek private interests, but the common good” — and condemned the “idolatry of profit” and abuses that “crush the weakest” as forms of death alongside the violence of war. Invoking Pope Francis’ final plea against growing indifference to war, he spoke as escalating conflicts have prompted Israeli security restrictions that sharply limited Easter ceremonies (and dampened Ramadan, Eid and Passover observances) and even led police to block two senior Christian leaders from celebrating Palm Sunday at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.