International Pope Leo XIV: "War has become fashionable again"
Pope Leo XIV has expressed his concern at the growing propensity for violence in the world.
09.01.2026, 14:16
SDA
"War has become fashionable again and a belligerent mood is spreading", said the head of 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide in a speech to diplomats at the Vatican.
He currently recognizes a weakness of multilateralism at international level. This development gives cause for concern, said Leo.
"A diplomacy that promotes dialog and seeks the consensus of all is being replaced by a diplomacy of strength, by individual states or groups of allies," the Pontiff explained.
He also denounced the way in which violence is used worldwide to impose one's own rule. Leo did not name any individual states that have resorted to violence.
Peace no longer a desirable good for some
He also criticized the fact that "the principle established after the Second World War, which forbade countries from using force to violate the borders of others" had been broken.
Peace is no longer sought as a gift or a good worth striving for, the Pope continued.
The occasion for Leo's speech was the annual audience with the Vatican's diplomatic corps. This is traditionally regarded as the Pope's keynote speech on foreign policy.
The first US-American to sit on the Chair of Peter delivered his speech to numerous diplomats largely in English - the Vatican's diplomatic protocol usually provides for Italian and French as languages. After his speech, he greeted the diplomats and chatted with some of them.
