VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV on Friday offered his most substantive criticism of military incursions by the United States, Russia and others into sovereign nations, denouncing how countries use force to assert their dominance around the world and “totally undermine” peace and the post-World War II international legal order.
“War is back in fashion, war fervor is spreading,” Leo told ambassadors from around the world who represented the interests of nations in the Holy See.
Leo did not name countries that had resorted to force in his lengthy speech, which he delivered mostly in English, breaking with the Vatican’s traditional diplomatic protocol of Italian and French. But his remarks came against the backdrop of recent U.S. military action in Venezuela to oust Nicolás Maduro, Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine and other conflicts.
The occasion was the pope’s annual audience with the Vatican’s diplomatic corps, which traditionally amounts to his annual foreign policy speech.
In his first such meeting, history’s first American-born pope delivered far more than a traditional roundup of global hot-button issues. In a speech that addressed threats to religious freedom and the Catholic Church’s opposition to abortion and surrogacy, Leo lamented the growing threats to the United Nations and multilateralism as a whole.
“Diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by force diplomacy based on individuals or groups of allies,” he said. “The principle established after World War II that prohibits countries from using force to violate other countries’ borders has been completely destroyed.”
“Instead, peace is sought through arms as a condition for maintaining one’s dominance. This seriously threatens the rule of law, which is the basis for all peaceful citizens to coexist,” he said.
Leo did make explicit reference to tensions in Venezuela, calling for a peaceful political solution that keeps in mind “the common interests of the people, rather than defending partisan interests.”
U.S. troops captured Venezuelan leader Maduro in a nighttime raid. The Trump administration is currently seeking to take control of Venezuela’s oil resources and its government. The U.S. government insists Maduro’s arrest was lawful, saying drug cartels operating in Venezuela amount to illegal combatants and that the U.S. is now engaged in an “armed conflict” with them.
Analysts and some world leaders condemned the Venezuelan delegation, warning that Maduro’s ouster could pave the way for more military intervention and further erosion of the global legal order.
On Ukraine, Leo once again called for an immediate ceasefire and urgently called on the international community “not to waver in its commitment to finding a just and lasting solution.”
In Gaza, Leo reiterated the Holy See’s call for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and insisted that Palestinians have the right to live “on their own land” in Gaza and the West Bank.
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