Pope Leo XIV awarding the Vatican ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari, the Grand Cross of the Order of Pius IX as a so-called symbol of “peace” and “pacifism” feels surreal and deeply disturbing.
Christianity is supposed to stand for freedom, justice, compassion, and peace. But what kind of peace ignores the suffering of millions? What kind of moral leadership honors representatives of a regime responsible for brutal repression, executions, terrorism, and the destruction of countless lives across the Middle East?
How can the pain of the Iranian people be ignored so easily?
More than 40,000 young Iranian souls have been taken by this bloodthirsty regime. Mothers still mourn their children. Families still wait for justice. Entire generations have grown up under fear, torture, imprisonment, violence and executions.
And yet their representatives are welcomed, honored, and rewarded.
What message does this send to the victims? To the mothers whose hearts were broken? To the young people who sacrificed everything for freedom?
Peace without justice is not peace.
Dialogue without accountability becomes hypocrisy.
And honoring the representatives of oppression while victims remain unheard is not reconciliation, it is betrayal.
If religion is truly meant to unite humanity, it cannot do so by covering up crimes, silencing victims, or legitimizing cruelty. The world should stand with the oppressed, not decorate those monsters.
And for many people who have suffered under this islamic regime, it feels absolutely disgusting.
From now on, the Pope is no longer a messenger of peace, but a supporter of Islamic terrorism.