Pope Leo XIV has pledged to prioritise global peace, rejecting war as inevitable and offering the Vatican’s role in mediating international conflicts.
Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff in history, has vowed to make "every effort" to promote peace worldwide, reiterating his readiness to offer the Vatican as a neutral venue for dialogue between warring parties.
Speaking to representatives of the Eastern Catholic Churches—many of whom come from areas affected by violence such as Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq—Leo emphasised that "war is never inevitable" and warned that weapons only worsen human suffering.
"The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face-to-face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace," the Pope said.
He cautioned against binary worldviews that frame others as enemies, instead urging recognition of shared humanity. "Our neighbours are not first our enemies, but fellow human beings," he noted.
Since succeeding Pope Francis last week, Leo has repeatedly called for peace. His first words to the public from St Peter’s Square were “Peace be with all you.”
On Sunday, the pontiff called for a lasting peace in Ukraine, a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and expressed support for the ongoing ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Leo spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday in his first confirmed conversation with a world leader. According to Zelenskyy, the Pope offered to facilitate peace negotiations.
Zelenskyy is expected to attend the Pope's inauguration mass on 18 May in St Peter’s Square, with his chief of staff Andriy Yermak confirming that side meetings could take place during the visit.
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Pope Leo has arrived in the Canary Islands for the final leg of his visit to Spain, where he is set to meet migrants who survived dangerous Atlantic crossings and renew his call for greater global compassion towards people on the move.
Pope Leo visited Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia on Wednesday to inaugurate its newest geometric spire, making the modernist masterpiece by Antoni Gaudí the world’s tallest church.
Barcelona is preparing to mark a historic milestone in the legacy of architect Antoni Gaudí as Pope Leo XIV visits the city this week to inaugurate the Tower of Jesus Christ at the Sagrada Família basilica, almost exactly 100 years after the visionary architect’s death.
Pope Leo XIV has issued a historic apology for the Catholic Church’s past role in legitimising slavery, describing it as a “wound in Christian memory,” as he released a landmark encyclical addressing human dignity in the age of artificial intelligence.
Mexico and South Africa meet in Thursday’s World Cup opener in Mexico City, with both teams approaching the match from very different positions but facing their own pressures.
SpaceX has made history with the largest initial public offering ever in the United States, pricing its shares at $135 each and achieving a market valuation of $1.77 trillion.
SpaceX made a historic entrance into the Nasdaq on Friday, surging over 20% in its first day of trading and lifting its valuation to more than $2 trillion. Investors flocked to the world’s largest IPO, betting on Elon Musk’s sprawling empire spanning rockets, AI and beyond.
While France hosts next week’s Group of Seven summit, businesses in neighbouring Switzerland have already begun taking precautions, with many shops in Geneva boarded up ahead of a large anti-G7 demonstration expected on Sunday.
Formula 1 driver Pierre Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix podium has been reinstated after Alpine successfully challenged his post-race penalties through a Right of Review request with the FIA.
A London court has handed down lengthy sentences to activists from campaign group Palestine Action, who raided an Israeli-owned arms company in the UK.
Sierra Leone’s First Lady, Fatima Jabbe-Bio, has lost her London social housing flat after a UK council seized it.
SpaceX made a historic entrance into the Nasdaq on Friday, surging over 20% in its first day of trading and lifting its valuation to more than $2 trillion. Investors flocked to the world’s largest IPO, betting on Elon Musk’s sprawling empire spanning rockets, AI and beyond.
Ukraine will increase military wages and expand recruitment of foreign volunteers, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on Friday, as the armed forces face a critical personnel shortage after more than four years of war with Russia.
Poland will receive a new $4 billion loan from the United States through the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) programme, strengthening defence ties between the two NATO allies as Warsaw continues a major military modernisation drive.
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