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Pope Leo XIV Urges Europe to Choose Dialogue Over Military Buildup
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to prioritize peaceful dialogue over military buildup during a speech in Metz, France.
Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to prioritize peaceful dialogue over military buildup during a speech in Metz, France, on Monday, the final day of his visit.
The pontiff delivered his message at the Robert Schuman conference center, emphasizing the need for patient dialogue and negotiation to achieve peace.
Pope Leo XIV also warned against the illusion that rearmament is the solution to conflicts, urging leaders to engage in peaceful dialogue instead.
Pope Leo XIV encouraged Europe to return to its Christian roots and engage with people from other cultures living within it.
Pope Leo XIV also noted that modern Europe faces a new challenge with the arrival of migrants and refugees, encouraging leaders to see this as an opportunity for genuine cultural integration.
What this adds
Pope Leo XIV's message to political leaders is a logical extension of the Christian obligation to turn toward and welcome one’s neighbor.
Metz is particularly symbolic of the reconciliation Pope Leo held up, as the city has changed hands between France and Germany through two world wars.
Pope Leo XIV's visit to Metz included a meeting with the chief rabbi of France and representatives of Muslims, Buddhists, Protestants, and Orthodox Christians in France.
Pope Leo XIV's appointment of Romanian diplomat Monsignor Paul Butnaru as the Holy See's new permanent observer to the Council of Europe underscores the Vatican's commitment to human rights and migrant issues.
Background
Pope Leo XIV has appointed Romanian diplomat Monsignor Paul Butnaru as the Holy See's new permanent observer to the Council of Europe, a role that underscores the Vatican's commitment to human rights and migrant issues.
What's confirmed
- Urged peaceful dialogue over military buildups to end European conflicts. 11 outlets told this the same way.
- Outlets did split on Greek Rescue Teams Recover Six Dead After Gas Explosion Collapses Building Near Acropolis → Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to return to its Christian roots and to engage with people from other cultures living within it during a speech delivered in France's northeastern city of Metz on Monday, the fourth and final day of his visit.
- Pope Leo XIV said, “Today, sadly, war has returned, even to Europe: a new ‘senseless slaughter,’ claiming countless civilian lives every day,” as he spoke in Metz.
- Pope Leo XIV also said Schuman “helped to lay the foundations of a Europe that was aware of the urgent need to tear down the walls that were dividing it,” as he spoke in Metz, where Schuman lived and is buried nearby.
- The final day of the pontiff’s visit to France focused on peace and unity in Europe.
What's still developing
- In his speech, Pope Leo reflected on Europe’s history, which he said could not be understood without considering its Christian roots.
- “Far from being an exclusively religious criterion, recognizing Europe’s debt to Christianity helps us understand more clearly that openness to the transcendent is always a constitutive part of the human person and a living source of civilization,” he explained.
- “Europe can help to break this cycle through the respect for others that it has learned to cultivate and preserve,” the pope said.
- “Dialogue does not diminish our identity, but expresses it with simplicity and truth by opening it to the diversity of the other,” he said.
- “Indeed, to invoke God’s name in order to justify violence or oppression is to profane that name,” Pope Leo said.
- “We need to commit ourselves to patient dialogue, to show courage in negotiation and to be willing to give up some positions for the greater good of peace.” Located near the German border, Metz lies in the Lorraine region, which, along with the Alsace region, was annexed by the German Empire between 1871 and 1918, fueling conflicts between the neighboring countries in both world wars.
- Pope Leo arrived at Metz-Nancy-Lorraine Airport in the morning and was greeted warmly by a group of children, some of whom asked for autographs and hugs from the pontiff.
- After a roughly 30-minute drive to the conference center, the papal motorcade was welcomed by crowds waving white flags and shouting, “Leo.” Among the participants present at the event, titled “To the roots of Europe for peace and unity,” were French President Emmanuel Macron and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the peace-building Community of Sant’Egidio.
- The pope noted Christianity’s contributions to the continent, from St.
- “The universal character of Europe’s founding values assures us that this dialogue is possible and that it can provide a solid foundation for our societies, enabling us to work more effectively for peace and a reconciled world,” he said Sept. 28.
- The title of the event was “To the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity.” Metz is a city just 27 miles from the Schengen tripoint, where the borders of Luxembourg, France, and Germany meet — an area rich in significance for European history.
- He was declared “venerable” by Pope Francis in 2021 in recognition of his heroic virtues.