Pope offers to mediate between world leaders to end wars

Pope Leo XIV said he "would make every effort so that this peace may prevail" and volunteered to mediate between warring nations on Wednesday.

In a speech to Eastern Catholic Church members, the newly appointed US pope, who last week assumed leadership of the 1.4 billion Catholics worldwide, also urged Christians in the Middle East to stay in their homes.

“Who, better than you, can sing a song of hope even amid the abyss of violence?” he told the packed Paul VI hall at the Vatican, noting that “from the Holy Land to Ukraine, from Lebanon to Syria, from the Middle East to Tigray and the Caucasus, how much violence do we see!”.

He urged them to pray for peace, adding: “For my part, I will make every effort so that this peace may prevail.

“The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face to face, to talk to one another, so that peoples everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace.

“The peoples of our world desire peace, and to their leaders I appeal with all my heart: Let us meet, let us talk, let us negotiate!”.

Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21 at the age of 88, was succeeded as pope by Leo.

He was speaking at a prearranged gathering honoring the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which are spread over Eastern Europe, the Middle East, India, and some areas of Africa, in honor of their 2025 Jubilee holy year.

Leo thanked those "sowing seeds of peace" in his call to put a stop to hostilities, which has been a recurring theme in his speeches thus far.

“I thank God for those Christians — Eastern and Latin alike — who, above all in the Middle East, persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them,” he said.

“Christians must be given the opportunity, and not just in words, to remain in their native lands with all the rights needed for a secure existence. Please, let us strive for this!”