Pope Leo concluded his visit to Lebanon with a heartfelt appeal at the airport before departing for Rome on Dec. 2: “May the attacks and hostilities cease. We must recognize that armed struggle brings no benefit. While weapons are lethal, negotiation, mediation and dialogue are constructive. Let us all choose peace as a way, not just as a goal!”
Gerard O’Connell
Gerard O’Connell is America’s senior Vatican correspondent and author of The Election of Pope Francis: An Inside Story of the Conclave That Changed History. He has been covering the Vatican since 1985.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo preaches peace as he visits young people and religious sites in Lebanon
“Peace! Peace!” That is the cry one hears everywhere Pope Leo goes on his second day in Lebanon.
Posted inVatican Dispatch
Pope Leo makes a strong pitch for peace in war-threatened Lebanon
When Pope Leo arrived in Beirut on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 30, on the second stage of his first foreign trip, his main aim was to promote peace and do what he could to prevent a year-long, unstable cease-fire between Israel and Lebanon from collapsing into a new war.
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Pope Leo addresses Gaza, Ukraine and hopes for Christian unity in first plane press conference
Pope Leo held an informal press conference today on his flight from Istanbul to Beirut, addressing his hopes for greater ecumenical cooperation and for peace in Gaza and Ukraine.
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In Turkey, Pope Leo pushes for unity and peace—within and beyond Christianity
On his first foreign trip as pope, Leo XIV encourages Turkey’s Christians, government and Islamic leaders to work together for peace and unity.
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Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholomew urge Christian unity at Nicaea commemoration
“We are all invited to overcome the scandal of the divisions that unfortunately still exist [among Christians] and to nurture the desire for unity for which the Lord Jesus prayed and gave his life,” Pope Leo XIV said.
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Pope Leo in Turkey and Lebanon: What to know about his first foreign trip
Leo XIV will set out on his first foreign trip as pope on the morning of Nov. 27, first to Turkey, a Muslim country with a tiny Christian population, and then, on Nov. 30, to Lebanon, the country with the largest Christian population in the Middle East.
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Ahead of Pope Leo’s trip, a look at Christian life in Muslim-majority Turkey
On the eve of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Turkey for the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, America spoke with Jean-Marc Balhan, S.J., a Belgian Jesuit who has lived in the country since 2001, about the situation of Christians, the state of interreligious dialogue and how the pope’s visit is viewed there. Father […]
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Pope Leo fulfills Francis’ promise: 62 Indigenous artifacts returned to Canada
In a historic moment in the long journey of reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Indigenous peoples of Canada, Pope Leo XIV formally handed over 62 artifacts from the Vatican Museums to a delegation of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops. The artifacts, including an Inuit kayak, masks, moccasins and etchings that have been […]
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On World Day of the Poor, Pope Leo calls on government leaders ‘to listen to the cry of the poorest’
Pope Francis established the day in 2016 as a reminder that the poor are “at the heart of the Gospel.” Leo has shown that he is following the same path.