New pope has made several appeals for peace

15/5/2025 6:15

Pope Leo XIV, the first American to head the global Catholic

Church, pledged on Wednesday to make "every effort" for peace

and offered the Vatican as a mediator in global conflicts,

saying war was "never inevitable".



Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who spoke to the

Pope soon after his election, welcomed the Pontiff's offer and

repeated that Kyiv backed all efforts to end his country's war

with Russia.



Leo, elected last week to succeed the late Pope Francis,

has already made repeated calls for peace. His first words to

crowds in St Peter's Square were "Peace be with all of you".



He returned to the issue while addressing members of the

Eastern Catholic Churches, some of which are based in

conflict-ridden places such as Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq

and often face persecution as religious minorities.



"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," Leo said.



"War is never inevitable. Weapons can and must be silenced,

for they do not resolve problems but only increase them. Those

who make history are the peacemakers, not those who sow seeds of

suffering," he added.



Pope Leo warned against the rise of simplistic narratives

that divide the world into good and evil. "Our neighbours are

not first our enemies, but fellow human beings," he said.



On Sunday, the pontiff called for an "authentic and lasting

peace" in Ukraine; a ceasefire in Gaza and release of all

Israeli hostages held by militant group Hamas; and he also

welcomed the fragile ceasefire between India and Pakistan.



Zelenskiy, writing in English on the X social media

platform, said he was grateful to Pope Leo "for his wise words

about the Holy See's willingness to play a mediatory role in

restoring global peace".



"We appreciate the Pontiff's insightful statement and

reiterate our commitment to advancing meaningful peace efforts,

including a full ceasefire and a personal highest-level meeting

with Russia."



Later, in his nightly video address, Zelenskiy said:

"The Vatican can help diplomacy. There is support for a direct

meeting from leaders of the Global South. And this voice is

being heard."







FIRST LEADER TO SPEAK TO NEW POPE



Leo spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on

Monday in his first known conversation with a foreign leader as

pope. He offered to facilitate peace talks as world leaders come

to his inauguration mass, the Ukrainian leader said.



Zelenskiy hopes to be present for the event in St Peter's

Square on May 18 and is ready to hold meetings on the sidelines,

the Ukrainian leader's chief of staff Andriy Yermak told Reuters

on Tuesday.