The key to restoring peace in the Middle East and in the world is for all parties involved to "abandon their quest for supremacy" and “stop investing time, energy and resources in new technologies and strategies that keep us away from the light,” says Cardinal-elect Dominique Joseph Mathieu O.F.M.

Since 2021 the Belgium-born Conventual Franciscan has been at the head of  the Archdiocese of Tehran-Ispahan, the only Latin-rite Catholic diocese in Iran, home to a small flock of 2,000 Catholics in an overwhelmingly Shia Muslim population of 82 million.  

Aged 61, he is one of the 21 cardinals Pope Francis will create at the Consistory on 7 December making him the third cardinal in the history of the Islamic Republic.

Within his Franciscan Order he has held various positions serving for several years  in the provincial Custody of the East and of the Holy Land, and has a long experience of interreligious dialogue with Muslims.

Time has come to face conflicts with courage and transparency

Speaking to the Vatican's Fides Agency in the wake of the Israeli recent targeted airstrikes on Iran in retaliation to earlier Iranian attacks, Archbishop Mathieu avoided direct political comments but remarked that in the context of the ongoing escalation in the Middle East time has come “to face conflicts with courage and transparency.”  

“Only through authentic encounter with the other can the spark of fraternity emerge in our common home, which God, made love, has entrusted to us,” he said echoing Pope Francis’ incessant pleas for ending the spiral of violence and suffering in the region.

“Pope Francis constantly reminds us of the urgency of putting an end to wars, which only bring death and darkness.”

We need  concrete actions of reconciliation and unity

Archbishop Matthieu insisted on the need to build peace “with concrete actions of reconciliation and unity." "By walking together, despite our differences, we can be true witnesses of peace,” he said.

In a previous interview with asianews agency on his creation as cardinal and his ministry in Iran, Archbishop Mathieu denounced the prevailing war rhetoric in the Middle Eastern crisis and pointed to the weakness of international institutions, starting from the United Nations.

The wakeness of the UN and EU 

He further noted the contradictions the European Union which, while calling for a cease-fire and peace, continues to send weapons to belligerents.

He recalled Pope Francis words during his recent Apostolic Journey in Belgium in which he urged those in government to “take up the responsibility, the risk and the honor of peace”, decrying that in several countries the most profitable investments are in arms manufacturing.

“I believe that today we live in a global framework where the political logic and the language of diplomacy are marked by war, threat, revenge, and this is unfortunate."