Pope urges end to wars, calls for global reconciliation

ROME

Pope Leo XIV called Tuesday for an end to wars worldwide, saying that achieving peace is “the duty of all political leaders.”

Speaking at the closing of an interfaith forum in Rome, the pontiff said: “Conflicts exist wherever there is life, but we can neither manage nor resolve them through war.”

He urged political leaders to begin “a genuine and lasting period of reconciliation,” adding: “Let the wars end now.”

“The world is thirsting for peace,” the Pope said, warning that humanity must not “grow accustomed to living with war.”

He described ending wars as “an unpostponable duty before God,” saying peace must be “the foremost priority of all politics.”

The three-day event, organized by the Catholic Community of Sant’Egidio under the theme “Have Courage for Peace,” brought together representatives of different religions and concluded with a minute’s silence for victims of war and violence.