Diplomacy based on dialogue and consensus has given way to force and war, Pope Leo said in his address to the diplomatic corps gathered at the Vatican on Friday, Jan. 9. He urged the international community to prioritize “inalienable dignity of the human person” and “the sanctity of life” over “mere national interest.”
“War is back in vogue and a zeal of war is spreading,” he said. “Peace is no longer sought as a gift and a desirable good in itself.” Instead, peace is pursued through military power as a way to impose control, he said, undermining the post–World War II principle that nations should not use force to violate one another’s borders.
Reading his talk from a gold-accented chair, Pope Leo called for “an immediate ceasefire” in Ukraine and said civilians in the Holy Land, especially in Gaza, continue to face a severe humanitarian crisis. He reaffirmed the Vatican’s support for a two-state solution as the path to lasting peace for both Israelis and Palestinians.
He also drew attention to conflicts in the Caribbean Sea and along the American Pacific coast, as well as in Haiti, the Great Lakes region of Africa, Sudan and the crisis in Myanmar.
Following the Trump administration’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Pope Leo called for respecting the will of the Venezuelan people and protecting their human and civil rights.
“While war is content with destruction, peace requires continuous and patient efforts of construction as well as constant vigilance,” he said.
Pope Leo spoke out after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was recently taken into custody by U.S. forces and after Russia’s attack Friday on Ukraine with a ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
Pope Leo also emphasized the importance of adhering to international humanitarian law. “Such law must always prevail over the ambitions of belligerents, in order to mitigate the devastating effects of war, also with a view to reconstruction,” he said.
Condemning violence across the world
Pope Leo condemned violence against people of faith worldwide, citing attacks in Bangladesh, the Sahel region and Nigeria, as well as a deadly terrorist attack on a church in Damascus and violence in Mozambique.
He called the persecution of Christians “one of the most widespread human rights crises today,” saying that while religious freedom is a human right, in many places it has become more of a “privilege.”
He also warned of a more “subtle form of discrimination” in Europe and the Americas, where he said Christians are restricted from expressing their beliefs in public life, particularly when advocating for vulnerable groups or traditional family values.
Several times, Pope Leo returned to the importance of protecting human dignity worldwide, including that of migrants and prisoners. “It cannot be overlooked, for example, that every migrant is a person and, as such, has inalienable rights that must be respected in every situation,” he said.
Importance of words, freedom of speech
As the world confronts geopolitical conflict and climate change, Pope Leo said the United Nations should play a central role in promoting dialogue and providing humanitarian aid.
“Language is no longer the preferred means by which human beings come to know and encounter one another,” he said. He said the meaning of words has become “fluid” and vague, and has led to their weaponization against opponents. He stressed the need for agreement on the meaning of words.
Words must be tied to reality, he said — otherwise, “reality itself becomes debatable and ultimately incommunicable.”
He said free speech depends on clear, truth-based language but warned that space for open expression is shrinking, particularly in Western societies.
Freedom of conscience is increasingly under pressure even in democratic societies, he said, despite being a mark of a free society. “A truly free society does not impose uniformity but protects the diversity of consciences,” Pope Leo said.
Religious freedom is also under threat and should be protected for Christians and all other religious communities, he said. Pope Leo also drew attention to the importance of cultivating “Jewish-Christian dialogue.”
Engaging in political life
Pope Leo evoked the teachings of Saint Augustine, and particularly his book, “The City of God,” written in response to claims that Christianity had weakened the Roman Empire.
The book explored the conflict between two kinds of “cities”: the City of God, grounded in love of God and neighbor, and the “earthly city,” a temporary dwelling place driven by pride, power and self-interest, exemplified by the Roman Empire.
These two cities coexist not as church vs. state, but as competing moral orientations within societies and individuals, Pope Leo explained.
Augustine believed, Pope Leo said, that Christians should fully participate in the political life of the “earthly city” while maintaining their ultimate loyalty to higher moral principles of the “the heavenly city, their true homeland.”
He went on: “At the same time, Christians living in the earthly city are not strangers to the political world, and, guided by the Scriptures, seek to apply Christian ethics to civil government.”
The work remains relevant today, he said, amid global instability, growing nationalism and eroding international cooperation:
“In this perspective, each of us is a protagonist and thus responsible for history.”