“I Cannot Be in Favor of War” — Pope Leo XIV's Wide-Ranging In-Flight Press Conference From Africa

On the flight back from Africa, Leo addressed Iran, migration, the death penalty, and LBGTQ issues. He said he carries a photo with him of a Lebanese boy who was killed in the conflict.

Pope Leo XIV stood in the aisle of his return flight from Malabo to Rome on Wednesday and told reporters what he has been telling the world since the United States and Israel began bombing Iran in June: “As a Church — I repeat — as a pastor, I cannot be in favor of war.”

The line came roughly twenty minutes into a wide-ranging in-flight press conference …