VATICAN CITY (RNS) – During his first Easter address on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV made an impassioned global appeal to end wars and embrace dialogue, following a series of celebrations leading up to Easter in which the pope emphasized the theme of peace.
“Let those who have weapons lay them down! Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue! Not with the desire to dominate others, but to encounter them!” Leo said in his Urbi et Orbi address, Latin for “to the city and to the world,” as 50,000 gathered in the square beneath him, according to Vatican News.
Recent popes have made the traditional Easter address an occasion to call out injustices and conflict in the world. Leo’s Holy Week celebrations, including a prayer vigil on Saturday to “make heard the cry for peace that springs from our hearts,” kept that focus — with added urgency as conflict escalates in the Middle East.
Though he did not name specific conflicts in his Sunday address, Leo underlined Jesus’ embrace of nonviolence, in contrast to world leaders — including in the United States — who have recently invoked Christianity to justify the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran, which has spilled into the wider region.
“The power with which Christ rose is entirely nonviolent,” the pope said. “This is the true strength that brings peace to humanity because it fosters respectful relationships at every level: among individuals, families, soci …
