He urged France to remain a force for peace and multilateralism in Europe.
On Friday, Pope Leo XIV and French President Emmanuel Macron held a meeting at the Elysee Palace, where the leader of the Catholic Church warned about the risk of nuclear weapons.
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Citing John XXIII’s encyclical Pacem in Terris, which called for “atomic weapons to be prohibited,” the pope advocated for simultaneous and controlled disarmament backed by mutual and effective guarantees.
“An erroneous conviction that the possession of nuclear weapons would be a guarantee of security is increasingly spreading, fueling a new arms race that is difficult to control,” he recalled.
“Peace is not a balance of forces; it is built every day through dialogue and justice,” Pope XIV stated, urging “never to resign ourselves to the prospect of war by considering it inevitable, but to tirelessly promote dialogue and diplomacy, in order to preserve peaceful societies that respect the dignity and rights of individuals and peoples.”
The “Priests Against Genocide” group, an international coalition of Catholic clergy, marched through the streets of Rome on Tuesday to urge Catholic Church leaders to take a stronger stance against Israel’s war in Gaza. CNN’s Christopher Lamb reports. pic.twitter.com/Rpbw0zlpQ5
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Some time ago, President Macron proposed extending France’s nuclear power as a “umbrella” for Europe in the face of the threat from Russia. In response to that proposal, the pope said: “Amid the din of wars and the various crises shaking our world, France has a vocation to remain a tireless architect of peace and multilateralism, especially within our beloved Europe.”
Leo XIV called “for France, faithful to its values, to open the path toward disarmed and disarming peace, and to responsibly offer its irreplaceable contribution in favor of peace. May its freedom continue to grow in the pursuit of the common good.”
During his meeting with President Macron, the pope also made several references to the situation in the Middle East, Lebanon, and Palestine.
“We cannot remain indifferent to such suffering, which wounds human dignity and cries out for justice before God. The gravity of these situations must challenge us and call on each person, wherever they may be, to a true conversion of the heart and a change in attitude,” said the American pontiff.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: EFE
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