Pope Leo XIV renewed his “appeal for peace” in an exclusive interview on June 19 with TG1, the main news program of Italian state television, as Israel and Iran continue a war that risks becoming global if the United States joins military forces with Israel.
“I would like to renew this appeal for peace. We must try at all costs to avoid the use of weapons and seek dialogue through diplomatic means. Let us work together to find solutions,” the pope said.
“Many innocent people are dying, and we must always promote peace,” he said. More than 600 people have already been killed in Iran since Israel began bombing the nation of more than 90 million people, according to the Washington-based group Human Rights Activists, while Israel reports that at least 24 have been killed by Iranian reprisal attacks in this country of some 9 million people.
“[It’s] really worrying. Day and night, I try to follow what is happening in many parts of the world. Today, we are talking mainly about the Middle East, but it is not only there,” the pope told Ignazio Ingrao, the Vatican correspondent for Channel 1 of the Italian state television.
Recalling his words at the end of his public audience last Wednesday, Pope Leo said, “I would like to renew this appeal for peace. We must try at all costs to avoid the use of weapons and seek dialogue through diplomatic means. Let us work together to find solutions. Many innocent people are dying, and we must always promote peace.”
He renewed his appeal to work for peace through “dialogue” and “diplomatic means” at the end of his visit to the Vatican Radio Center at Santa Maria di Galeria, 10 miles outside of Rome. In the past the site was at the center of a long legal dispute over the emission of electromagnetic waves.
Mr. Ingrao recalled that “a year ago, Pope Francis decided to transform it [this site] into an agri-voltaic centre with his apostolic letter ‘Fratello Sole,’ so that clean electricity could be produced with photovoltaic panels, allowing the Vatican City State to become completely self-sufficient. It is the first country in the world powered entirely by clean energy.”
Commenting on this project, Pope Leo told TG1, “We need to finalize the agreements with the [Italian] State, but it really is a wonderful opportunity. I think that this commitment on the part of the church sets a very important example: We are all aware of the effects of climate change, and we really need to take care of the whole of creation, as Pope Francis has taught so clearly.”
At the end of his surprise visit to the Vatican Radio Center, Pope Leo told TG1: “It was a great opportunity to get out of the city for a bit. Today [Thursday] is a holiday in the Vatican for the solemnity of Corpus Christi. On Sunday, we will celebrate the feast at St. John Lateran, then at St. Mary Major with the procession, and today we took the opportunity to come here.”
He said, “I didn’t know about this center, the Vatican Radio antennas, which have been here since the time of Pope Pius XII.”
Pope Leo recalled that when he was a missionary “in Latin America, and often even in the mountains where there were no other options, Vatican Radio always came in at night, and I carried a small radio with me.” He also said that on subsequent trips, “when I was general of the Augustinians [2001-2013], in Africa, in various countries, I always found the news at night, thanks to this very important service provided by Vatican Radio.”
Vatican Radio was established in 1931 by Guglielmo Marconi and today broadcasts in 39 languages around the world on short wave, D.R.M., medium wave, FM, satellite and the internet.
Pope Leo’s visit coincided with the 43rd anniversary of his priestly ordination, and Vatican Media said he celebrated the occasion with the staff during a small reception.
