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Pope Leo XIV Urges Europe to Reject Nationalism and Embrace Peace
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to reject nationalism and embrace peace during a speech in Metz, France, on September 28, the final day of his apostolic journey to the country.
Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to reject nationalism and embrace peace during a speech in Metz, France, on September 28, the final day of his apostolic journey to the country.
In his address to French President Emmanuel Macron and other political and clerical leaders at the Robert Schuman Conference Center, the pope highlighted the continent's history of reconciliation and cooperation.
The pope emphasized the importance of dialogue and negotiation, urging leaders to commit to peaceful resolutions rather than military buildups.
Pope Leo XIV also addressed the issue of migrant deaths, echoing concerns he raised during a visit to Spain in June 2026.
The pope's message in Metz, a city that changed hands between France and Germany through two world wars, was particularly symbolic of the reconciliation he advocated.
Pope Leo XIV also appointed Romanian diplomat Monsignor Paul Butnaru as the new permanent observer of the Holy See to the Council of Europe, underscoring the Vatican's commitment to human rights and migrant issues.
What this adds
Pope Leo XIV's call for peace and dialogue is a continuation of his previous appeals to European leaders, including his visit to the Council of Europe in 2014.
The appointment of Monsignor Paul Butnaru as the new permanent observer to the Council of Europe highlights the Vatican's ongoing commitment to human rights and migrant issues.
Background
Pope Leo XIV urged Europe to prioritize peaceful dialogue over military buildup during a speech in Metz, France.
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
- “Today, sadly, war has returned, even to Europe: a new ‘senseless slaughter,’ claiming countless civilian lives every day,” the pope said in a speech to French President Emmanuel Macron and political and clerical leaders at the Robert Schuman Conference Center Sept. 28.
What's still developing
- More than seven decades later, Pope Leo argued that the institutions created out of that experience remain an antidote to the desire for domination.
- Today, people “boast of lies and deceit,” the pope said, but Europe’s experience has demonstrated that divergent interests do not have to end in conflict.
- “Europe can help to break this cycle through the respect for others that it has learned to cultivate and preserve,” he said.
- In an address to Pope Leo in Metz, French President Emmanuel Macron described the region of Lorraine as a land “wounded by history, disputed, conquered and reconquered,” but also the place where Franco-German reconciliation was built and became a cornerstone of European integration.
- 25, the pope’s message to political leaders is a logical extension of the Christian obligation to turn toward and welcome one’s neighbor.
- But Pope Leo’s appeal for reconciliation in Metz extended beyond relations between governments.
- On a 2014 visit to the intergovernmental organization, Pope Francis appealed for the humane treatment of migrants.
- Diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the council have existed since 1970, and Pope Francis visited the council in Strasbourg in 2014, where he called for a more humane response to migrants.
- Pope Francis addresses the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France, on Nov. 25, 2014. | Credit: Alan Holdren/CNA “We cannot allow the Mediterranean to become a vast cemetery. The boats landing daily on the shores of Europe are filled with men and women who need acceptance and assistance,” Francis said.
- The Council of Europe, distinct from the European Union, is Europe’s leading human rights organization.
- Criticizing the number of deaths resulting from the mass drownings of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Southern Europe, Francis warned the council in his address not to betray their mission by ignoring the suffering of these migrants.
- 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.