ROME (VINnews) — A Vatican official has responded to an Israeli rabbi who criticized recent comments by Pope Leo XIV about the conflict between Israel and Iran, according to a report by the The Times of Israel.

Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weisz, a member of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate and its interreligious dialogue committee with the Vatican, wrote to the pope expressing concern that the pope’s public remarks suggested moral equivalence between Israel and those attacking it. Weisz argued that framing the conflict in such terms risks obscuring Israel’s right to self-defense.

Flavio Pace, a senior official in the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, replied to the letter, thanking the rabbi and stating that relations between the Vatican and the Chief Rabbinate will continue to develop despite disagreements. The response did not directly address the substance of the criticism.

The exchange comes amid broader tensions surrounding international reactions to the war. The Times of Israel reported the correspondence and said it was unclear whether the reply represented the pope’s official position or a personal response.