During the official reception for the new ambassadors accredited to the Holy See from Bangladesh, Chad, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and Yemen, Leo XIV issued an international call for peace and against the geopolitical logic based on weapons and the domination of some countries over others.
In a speech delivered at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, the Pontiff called for “a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus,” in the face of an international scenario increasingly marked by geopolitical tensions, armed conflicts, and strategic rivalries.
Leo XIV criticizes a peace based on weapons
The Pope specifically denounced the mindset that seeks to build peace through rearmament or the imposition of power.
“In a time when peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominance,” Leo XIV stated, “it is urgent to return to a diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus.”
The Pontiff insisted that international relations need to recover a clear and sincere language, free from hostility and manipulation, in order to rebuild trust among nations.
A call for the moral conversion of international politics
Beyond diplomatic formulas, Leo XIV also offered a moral reflection on the current functioning of the international order.
The Pope warned that no society can be considered truly just if it measures its success solely in terms of economic power or political influence while ignoring the weakest.
“No nation can call itself just and humane if it neglects those who live on the margins,” he noted.
In that context, he defended an international policy oriented toward the common good and called for abandoning national egoisms that ultimately leave the poor and vulnerable invisible.
The Pope calls for strengthening international organizations
Leo XIV also defended the importance of multilateral institutions at a time of growing global fragmentation.
According to his explanation, international organizations remain indispensable instruments for resolving conflicts and fostering cooperation between countries, although he acknowledged the need to make them “more representative and effective.”
The Pontiff called for real spaces of encounter and mediation capable of curbing the growing international polarization.
Yemen and Africa, present at the audience
The audience included the presence of diplomatic representatives from countries particularly affected by conflicts, poverty, or humanitarian crises, including Yemen, Chad, Rwanda, or Sierra Leone.
In all cases, Leo XIV assured his prayers for the respective peoples and asked that diplomatic efforts contribute to building “a more just, fraternal, and peaceful world.”