Pope Leo to World Leaders: “End the Killing — All of It”

Whether speaking about Ukraine or Gaza, Pope Leo's message is unwavering: lay down the arms and seek dialogue, because the world “can’t take it anymore."

Pope Leo was interviewed by the media upon his arrival in Castel Gandolfo for a brief end-of-summer respite.

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In a brief but telling exchange outside Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV outlined what can only be described as his emerging foreign policy doctrine.

The 69-year-old American pontiff arrived for a summer retreat but wasted no time addressing the world’s crises.

When reporters pressed him about the raging wars in Ukraine and the Holy Land, Leo’s answers were frank and consistent: seek ceasefires, get everyone to the negotiating table, prioritize saving lives.

War, he warned, has long since lost any purpose.

“The violence, the many deaths, must stop… after all this time, what is the purpose of war?” he said, calling instead for dialogue over “violence, not weapons”.

This emphasis on diplomacy over force isn’t a one-off remark – it’s the resounding theme of Leo’s three-month-old pontificate.

He openly calls it the Holy See’s strategy of “soft diplomacy,” a patient push for peace through persistent dialogue.

Unlike political leaders who still cling to military solutions, Leo is convinced that “these problems cannot be solved by war.”

Crucially, Leo pairs his political appeals with humanitarian ones: in the same breath, he begged for Gaza’s starving children to be fed and Israel’s hostages to be freed.

His cry for peace is grounded in compassion for people, not just a quest for stability.

The timing of Leo’s remarks is striking.

They came just ahead of a high-stakes meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

By imploring world powers to embrace peacemaking, Pope Leo effectively set a moral benchmark for that summit: put down the weapons and talk.

In Leo’s view, peace isn’t just a policy position — it’s a moral imperative.

And he’s betting that if he keeps sounding this clarion call, the world just might remember how to listen.

As the fourth month of his tenure opens, Leo XIV is clearly willing to stake his entire moral authority on the cause of peace.

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