The tweet early Jan. 3 from Bishop Richard F. Stika of Knoxville, Tennessee, asked for prayers. It wasn’t an unusual request from a church leader. Still, its significance stems from its context and its timing: a few hours after the overnight killing of Iran’s top military leader, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.
Soleimani
After Soleimani Assassination, Pope Warns War ‘Brings Only Death and Destruction’
Days after the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by the United States, Pope Francis issued an appeal for peace and calm Jan. 5 amid what he said is an “air of tension” throughout the world.