“Balm for our endless wounds”

His Excellency Pope Leo XIV, the Respected Leader of the Catholics of the World

We write this letter to you with trembling hands and a heart full of pain, from amidst the ashes and ruins of the schools of the city of Minab in southern Iran. We are the fathers and mothers of 168 children who, these days, instead of embracing the warm bodies of our children, press their burned bags and bloody notebooks to our chests; innocent children whose only crime was smiling in the classroom, but this crime, through the instigation and support of illogical warmongers, crashed down upon the heads of our innocent children.

Your Holiness

In the dark days when the terrifying sound of explosions had closed the ears of the world to our wails, the echo of your peace-seeking words became a balm for our endless wounds. When you courageously asked the world powers to “reduce the level of violence and bombings,” we saw in every single one of your words the effort to save our children; those same defenceless humans whose lives you tried to protect by emphasising the “necessity of protecting civilians and respecting international and humanitarian laws.”
    You, with an aching heart and a divine perspective, warned the awakened consciences of the world that “hate is increasing, violence is worsening, and many have lost their lives.” Today, the empty chairs of the classrooms in Minab are bitter testaments to this very truth; a truth brought about by the making of American bombs directed by illogical warmongers. We thank you that amidst the tumult of war, you became the voice of righteousness and reminded everyone that lasting peace and tranquillity are achieved “not through force and weapons, but through the path of dialogue and the genuine search for a solution for all.”
    Our children will never return home again to build a better tomorrow, but the prayer of us bereaved fathers and mothers is that your message to “lay down weapons” is heard. Especially when America and the Israeli regime, with their excessive demands, fuel the fire of these crimes. We ask you to continue to be the voice of the voiceless children and strive to reopen “all paths of dialogue”, so that no more weapons are built, and no father or mother anywhere on this earthly sphere is forced to whisper a night-time lullaby over the cold tombstone of their child.

With endless sorrow and deep respect,
A group of bereaved fathers and mothers of 168 martyred students of the city of Minab, Hormozgan Province – Iran

Source: https://x.com/ChristopherHale/status/2045952686328021069