The occasion of Easter, coinciding in short succession alongside the similar holy periods in both Islam and Judaism, gives us an opportunity to reflect. This is not to say that it gives us the opportunity to vainly hope for divine intervention, or to dream about a better world separate from the one that currently exists, with all of its horrifying realities. Rather, it gives us the opportunity to rediscover the actual nature of the human species, with each of us having been given the challenge of carrying our own proverbial crosses, so that we may more effectively act during our lifetimes. This type of mental and spiritual tuning, or placement, and the rekindling of a true love for mankind for which it should remind us, is the proper way to celebrate Easter.
Pope Leo XIV hinted at this during his Urbi et Orbi address on Easter Sunday, remarking that “Easter is the victory of life over death, of light over darkness, of love over hatred,” and quoted Christ from the Gospel of John: “I leave you peace; I give you my peace. Not as the world gives it, I give it to you.” He then aimed his remarks unmistakably against the perpetrators of today’s dangerous war in Southwest Asia: “Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!”
Unfortunately, U.S. President Trump has not been receptive to this message. Posting on his Truth Social on Easter Sunday, Trump wrote the following shocking message: “Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell—JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah.” The statement has already caused many to question Trump’s grasp on reality.
But aside from this, such a decision to begin striking civilian infrastructure would dramatically escalate the war. Mohammad Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, immediately responded, writing on X: “Your reckless moves are dragging the United States into a living HELL for every single family, and our whole region is going to burn.” Separately, 100 legal experts from leading institutions across the U.S. have released a statement condemning the administration for violating international and humanitarian law in its war against Iran, which they said is “profoundly alarming and dangerously short-sighted.”
Reports seem to indicate that U.S. forces successfully rescued the airman from last Friday’s downed F-15E in southern Iran without sustaining any American casualties. However, the entire debacle illustrated how delicate the U.S.’s control over Iran is, and how disastrous a full ground invasion would become. At least one additional aircraft was shot down and multiple others were destroyed when they got stuck attempting to escape, reportedly destroyed by the Americans themselves in order to not allow them to fall into the hands of the Iranians.
This entire situation threatens to become a nightmare if not stopped, testing mankind’s fitness to survive. Dropping a nuclear bomb on Iran even became the subject of a jovial discussion on an Israeli talk show that included National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir—providing a stark reminder of just how quickly this war could go nuclear. In contrast to this, LaRouche movement activists and friends mobilized around the world on Easter Sunday to spread the message of peace and a way out of the current madness. They distributed Helga Zepp-LaRouche’s open letter to Pope Leo XIV, invoking Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa’s concept of a unified campaign for peace across the world’s religions.
Even more importantly, EIR is holding an emergency roundtable event Monday, April 6, to advance this cause. It cannot be that the only creative species destroys itself out of ideological madness and short-sighted ambition. A new security and development architecture must be created that both establishes the foundations for a just peace, and takes into account the interests of every nation on the planet.
It will begin at 10:00 am EDT, and is available here.
