VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV on Sunday condemned a new wave of attacks in Africa&#39;s <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mali-junta-defense-minister-killed-in-attack-near-bamako-family" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sahel region</a>, particularly in Mali and Chad, after dozens of people were killed by militantgroups. &quot;I have learned with concern of the reports of increasing violence in the Sahel region, particularly in Chad and Mali, which have been hit by recent terrorist attacks,&quot; said Pope Leo following his Regina Coeli prayer in St Peter&#39;s Square. &quot;I offer my prayers for the victims and express my solidarity with all those who are suffering. I hope that all forms of violence will cease, and I encourage every effort toward peace and development in that beloved land.&quot; On Saturday, security sources said dozens of people in central Mali had been killed the day before by an Al-Qaeda-linked group that had already killed at least 30 people in attacks on villages earlier on Wednesday. In Chad, Boko Haram killed at least 26 army personnel last week, prompting the government on Thursday to declare a 20-day state of emergency in the Lady Chad region.

This photo taken and handout on May 10, 2026 by The Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV during Regina Caeli prayer in The Vatican. (AFP)

Africa

Pope Leo XIV condemns militant attacks in Mali and Chad and offers prayers for victims amid rising violence across Africa’s Sahel region.

Pope condemns fresh violence in Sahel after dozens killed

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pope Leo XIV on Friday condemned the ongoing&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/us-israel-war-on-iran-day-56" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">conflict in Iran</a>, saying too many innocent lives had been lost and calling on all parties, including the United States, to pursue&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pakistan-interior-minister-meets-us-ambassador-baker-to-discuss-peace-efforts" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">dialogue</a>&nbsp;and respect international law, according to Vatican News. The Pope made the remarks aboard the return flight to Rome following a four-nation&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/pope-visits-eq-guinea-on-last-stop-of-africa-tour" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Apostolic Journey through Africa</a>, speaking to journalists departing from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. &quot;As a pastor, I cannot be in favor of war,&quot; he said. &quot;I would like to encourage everyone to make efforts to seek answers that come from a culture of peace, not hatred and division.&quot; The pontiff said he had received a letter from families of children killed on the first day of attacks in Iran. He also told reporters he carries a photo of a Muslim child in Lebanon, spotted holding a &quot;Welcome Pope Leo&quot; sign during the papal visit. The child was later killed in the war&#39;s final phase, as reported by Vatican News. On the prospect of regime change in Iran, the Pope declined to take a position, saying the more pressing concern was protecting civilian lives. &quot;It is not even clear what regime currently exists after the first days of attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran,&quot; he said. Asked about Iran&#39;s recent execution of an opposition member, the Pope did not limit his condemnation to any single government. &quot;I condemn all actions that are unjust. I condemn the taking of people&#39;s lives. I condemn capital punishment,&quot; he said. &quot;Human life is to be respected &mdash; from conception to natural death.&quot; Migration Speaking in Spanish, the Pope addressed the migration debate ahead of his planned trip to Spain. He acknowledged a state&#39;s right to regulate its borders but said wealthier nations bear responsibility for the conditions driving&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/7900-people-died-disappeared-on-migration-routes-in-2025-un" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">emigration</a>&nbsp;from the Global South. &quot;Africa is often seen by many as a place to extract minerals, to take its wealth for the benefit of other countries,&quot; he said, per Vatican News. He called for greater investment in African nations so people are not compelled to leave. He added that regardless of policy, migrants remain entitled to basic dignity. &quot;When people arrive, they are human beings and deserve the respect that belongs to every human being,&quot; he said. Papal diplomacy Asked whether meeting with authoritarian heads of state amounted to lending them moral legitimacy, the Pope defended the Holy See&#39;s policy of maintaining diplomatic relations across governments. &quot;There&#39;s an awful lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to promote justice, to promote humanitarian causes,&quot; he said. The pontiff stated that quiet diplomacy had at times secured the release of political prisoners and addressed crises of hunger and disease, according to the Vatican News.

Pope Leo XIV speaks to journalists aboard the flight returning to Rome after his African tour, addressing war, migration and global conflicts. (Vatican News)

Europe

Pope Leo XIV condemned the Middle East War, citing civilian deaths, and said he cannot support war. He pontiff urged dialogue and respect for international law to end the conflict. 

Pope Leo XIV condemns Middle East conflict, calls for immediate peace talks

LUANDA: Pope Leo XIV begins the final leg of his African tour on Tuesday with a visit to Equatorial Guinea, where his increasingly vocal defences of human rights will be closely watched in one of the most closed-off states on the continent. After three days in Angola, the US-born pontiff is due around noon (1100 GMT) in the Central African country, ruled since 1979 by Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, 83, the world&#39;s longest-serving head of state who is not a monarch. Leo follows in the footsteps of John Paul II, who 40 years ago became the first pope to visit Equatorial Guinea, an oil-rich country of two million people, 80% of whom are Catholic, a legacy of Spanish colonization. Throughout his African tour, the pope has criticized tyranny and exploitation while promoting peace and social, swapping his previously reserved style for a tougher tone. All eyes are whether that trend will continue in Equatorial Guinea, where he will be hosted by a government regularly accused of authoritarianism and human rights abuses. Most of the country&#39;s opposition figures and independent media, hounded by the authorities, are in exile in Spain. The Equatorial Guinean authorities are regularly singled out by international NGOs for endemic corruption and repression of the opposition, marked by arbitrary detentions and curbs on public freedoms. &#39;Spiritual change&#39;&nbsp; In the former capital Malabo, located on the island of Bioko in the Gulf of Guinea, giant portraits of the pope and welcome banners line the streets, alongside flags of the Vatican and Equatorial Guinea. A hymn composed in his honor will be sung by church choirs across the country throughout his visit. Malabo resident Juan Raul told AFP he sees the visit as an opportunity to bring the nation together.&nbsp;&quot;This will bring spiritual change and motivate many people to go to mass,&quot; he said. Leo will speak on Tuesday before the president, members of the government, the diplomatic corps and civil society, as well as representatives of the cultural sector. On Wednesday, he will travel to Obiang&#39;s Mongomo stronghold to hold a mass and greet students and teachers at a technology school named after Pope Francis. He will then continue to the economic capital Bata to pay tribute to the victims of a 2021 explosion that killed more than 108 people in a military camp and also visit inmates at Bata prison. On Thursday, the pontiff will hold a large mass at Malabo stadium before wrapping up his whirlwind 11-day 18,000-kilometre journey across Africa.

Pope Leo XIV (C) waves as he boards the plane to depart from the "4 de Fevereiro" Luanda International Airport in Luanda on the ninth day of an 11-day apostolic journey to Africa, on April 21, 2026. (AFP)

Human rights concerns and limited freedoms will frame Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Equatorial Guinea, where he is set to meet government officials, clergy, and citizens.

Pope visits Equatorial Guinea on last stop of Africa tour

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV on Sunday urged &quot;those who have the power to unleash wars&quot; to &quot;choose peace&quot; in his first Easter blessing as pontiff with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/usisrael-war-on-iran-day-37" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Middle East conflict</a>&nbsp;raging. Catholics around the world marked the holiday under the shadow of a war that began with US-Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28. It has drawn the entire whole region into the conflict while convulsing the global economy. &quot;We are growing accustomed to violence, resigning ourselves to it, and becoming indifferent. Indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people,&quot; the pope told a crowd in St Peter&#39;s Square. The leader of the world&#39;s 1.4 billion Catholics, who was elected in May 2025, also called for a prayer vigil at the Vatican on April 11. He paid tribute to his predecessor pope Francis who last appeared in public on Easter Sunday last year &ndash; a few hours before his death. Leo has repeatedly called for peace in the Middle East and this week directly urged US President Donald Trump to find an &quot;off-ramp&quot;. On Sunday, he spoke of &quot;a world ravaged by wars and marked by a hatred and indifference that make us feel powerless in the face of evil&quot;. In Jerusalem, there was silence in the alleyways of the Old City, left deserted by Israel&#39;s war on Gaza and now wider the Middle East conflict. Israeli authorities have severely restricted access to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, where the faithful commemorate Christ&#39;s crucifixion and resurrection, because of security considerations. On routes approaching the church, police checkpoints screened a small number of worshippers allowed near the site. All shops in the area were closed, heightening the sense of emptiness. &quot;It&#39;s very hard for all of us because it&#39;s our holiday... It&#39;s really hard to want to pray but to come here and find nothing. Everything is closed,&quot; said Christina Toderas, 44, from Romania. Otmar Wassermann, 65, had also attempted to enter the Holy Sepulchre but failed. &quot;I must say I was somewhat frustrated,&quot; he told AFP, recalling how the feast is generally celebrated every year. &nbsp;&#39;Situation is tragic&#39; &quot;The doors are still closed,&quot; the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, said in his Easter Vigil homily at the <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/easter-in-jerusalem-disrupted-by-war-and-restrictions-at-holy-sepulchre" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Holy Sepulchre</a>. Pizzaballa was prevented by Israeli police from holding mass in the church last Sunday, an incident that sparked international indignation. &quot;The silence is almost absolute, broken perhaps by the distant sound of what war continues to sow in this holy and torn land,&quot; he said, according to a text of his sermon issued by his office. In Lebanon, majority Christian areas in the south of the country are caught in the crossfire as <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/lebanon-says-46-rescuers-5-medical-staff-killed-in-israelhezbollah-war" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Israel repeatedly strikes</a> the country. In Debel, close to the Israeli border, inhabitants marked Easter Sunday against the sound of bombardment around their village, now almost totally cut off from the world and dependent on aid deliveries. &quot;The situation is tragic,&quot; town notable Joseph Attieh told AFP by phone. &quot;People are terrified, and the sound of shelling and gunfire has not stopped for a moment since last night. We haven&#39;t been able to sleep. &quot;We are putting our trust in God,&quot; Attieh said, since &quot;this is the only glimmer of hope we will not give up on&quot;. The war has also impacted the lives of Christian minorities in other parts of the Middle East. In Dubai, masses have been cancelled until further notice as a security precaution. In Damascus, Catholic authorities said Easter celebrations would be restricted to mass following an attack on a Christian town in central Syria.

Pope Leo XIV greets people at the end of the Easter vigil as part of the Holy Week celebrations, at St Peter's basilica in the Vatican on April 4, 2026. (AFP)

Middle East

Pope Leo XIV urged world leaders to choose peace in his first Easter blessing amid Middle East war, as conflict disrupted Holy Land services and cast a shadow on global Easter observances.

'Choose peace': Pope marks first Easter under cloud of Mideast war

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV on Thursday urged Russia and Ukraine to find the &quot;courage&quot; to hold direct talks and spoke of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza in his first Christmas message. The US pope, who was elected by fellow cardinals in May after the death of his predecessor pope Francis, also condemned the &quot;senselessness&quot; of war and the &quot;rubble and open wounds&quot; it leaves behind. Speaking to a crowd of some 26,000 people in St Peter&#39;s Square, the pope called for &quot;solidarity with and acceptance of those in need&quot; in Europe -- a possible reference to growing anti-immigration sentiment on the continent. &quot;Let us pray in a particular way for the tormented people of Ukraine,&quot; he said. &quot;May the parties involved, with the support and commitment of the international community, find the courage to engage in sincere, direct and respectful dialogue,&quot; he added. Russian and Ukrainian officials have spoken separately in recent weeks to US negotiators about proposals to end the war started by Russia&#39;s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Tens of thousands have been killed, eastern Ukraine decimated and millions forced to flee their homes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this week outlined key points of a plan to end the conflict after US talks. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far shown no willingness to compromise, doubling down on his hardline demands. &#39;Return of life&#39;In his first Christmas homily as pontiff, Leo addressed the dismal conditions in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people are still living in temporary shelters in wintry conditions weeks after a fragile ceasefire took hold. &quot;How... can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold,&quot; the pope said, adding that the territory&#39;s inhabitants &quot;have nothing left and have lost everything.&quot; The UN has said an estimated 1.3 million people currently need shelter&nbsp;assistance in Gaza and has warned of the increasing risk of hypothermia as temperatures dip. &quot;The war, in all its forms, has been harsh on everyone living on this land,&quot; Elias al-Jalda, a Palestinian Christian from Gaza, told AFP after attending a Christmas mass at Gaza&#39;s only Roman Catholic Church late on Wednesday. &quot;We hope this year will mark the beginning of a new phase -- one defined by a complete end to the war and the return of life to Gaza,&quot; said Jalda, one of dozens attending the mass. &#39;Compassion and reconciliation&#39;Sarah Mullally, who becomes head of the Church of England next month, addressed the issue of immigration directly in her Christmas sermon Thursday. &quot;Our national conversations about immigration continue to divide us, when our common humanity should unite us,&quot; &nbsp;said the future archbishop of Canterbury. &quot;We who are Christians then hold fast to joy as an act of resistance,&quot; she added. Britain&#39;s King Charles III called for &quot;compassion and reconciliation&quot; at a time of &quot;division&quot; across the world in his annual Christmas Day message broadcast. &quot;With the great diversity of our communities, we can find the strength to ensure that right triumphs over wrong,&quot; he said. &quot;It seems to me that we need to cherish the values of compassion and reconciliation the way our Lord lived and died.&quot; As well as being king of the United Kingdom, Charles is head of the 56 countries that make up the Commonwealth. Joy in BethlehemIn Bethlehem, the Christian community celebrated its first festive Christmas in more than two years as the occupied West Bank city emerges from the shadow of the war in Gaza. Hundreds of worshippers gathered for mass on Wednesday night at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus Christ. In Syria, Christmas lights illuminated Damascus&#39;s Old City despite the Christian community&#39;s fears of violence after a deadly attack in June. Around the district, home to several important churches, red baubles hung from trees, shopkeepers put up Christmas decorations and street vendors peddled warm chestnuts. &quot;Syria deserves joy and for us to be happy, and to hope for a new future,&quot; said student Loris Aasaf, 20. Trump&#39;s Christmas messageIn the United States, President Donald Trump issued a starkly different message to those of religious leaders. He wished a Merry Christmas &quot;to everyone, including the radical left-wing scum&quot;, referring to Democrats. In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had a sombre message after the deadly attack during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14. &quot;After the terror inflicted on Jewish Australia celebrating Hanukkah and Bondi Beach, we feel the weight of sorrow in our hearts,&quot; he said&nbsp;

Pope Leo XIV urged Russia and Ukraine to find the "courage" to hold direct talks and spoke of the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza in his first Christmas message

Pope urges Russia, Ukraine dialogue in Christmas blessing

ISTANBUL: Pope Leo XIV wraps up a four-day trip to Turkiye on Sunday after a warm welcome by its tiny Christian community, before heading to Lebanon with a message of peace for the crisis-mired nation.&nbsp;On his first overseas trip since being elected leader of the world&#39;s 1.4 billion Catholics, Leo met President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before travelling to Iznik for a celebration marking 1,700 years since the First Council of Nicaea, one of the early Church&#39;s most important gatherings.&nbsp;On Saturday, the American pope hosted thousands of worshippers who battled the rain to attend a public mass in Istanbul, with many travelling from across Turkey to join the multilingual service, which left many moved by its beautiful and haunting choral interludes.&nbsp;On his final morning, Leo was expected to attend a prayer service at the Armenian cathedral, then lead a divine liturgy, the Orthodox equivalent of mass, at the Patriarchal Church of St. George before a final blessing. He will have lunch with Patriarch Bartholomew I, the leader of the world&#39;s Orthodox Christians, a day after they signed a joint declaration pledging to take &quot;new and courageous steps on the path towards unity.&quot; Next stop LebanonDespite doctrinal differences that led to the Great Schism of 1054, which split the Roman Catholic Church in the West from the Eastern Orthodox Church, the two sides maintain dialogue and hold joint celebrations.&nbsp;They also agreed to continue their efforts to establish a common date for Easter, which Catholics and Orthodox Christians currently celebrate on different days.&nbsp;The pope&#39;s trip comes as the Orthodox world appears more fragmented than ever, with Russia&#39;s invasion of Ukraine accelerating the split between the Moscow and Constantinople patriarchates.&nbsp;Pope Leo is the fifth pontiff to visit Turkey, after Paul VI in 1967, John Paul II in 1979, Benedict XVI in 2006, and Francis in 2014.&nbsp;He is expected to leave Istanbul at 1145 GMT and fly to Beirut for a visit that will last until Tuesday.&nbsp;The six-day, two-nation trip is the first major international test for the first pope from the United States, elected head of the Catholic Church in May, and whose understated style contrasts with that of his charismatic and impulsive predecessor, Francis.&nbsp;Although Leo&#39;s visit drew little attention in Turkey, a Muslim-majority nation of 86 million with a Christian community numbering only around 100,000, it is eagerly awaited in Lebanon, a religiously diverse country of 5.8 million inhabitants.&nbsp;Since 2019, Lebanon has been ravaged by crises, including an economic collapse, a devastating port blast in Beirut in 2020, and the recent war with Israel.

Asia

The six-day, two-nation trip is the first major international test for the first pope from the United States, elected head of the Catholic Church in May, and whose understated style contrasts with that of his charismatic and impulsive predecessor, Francis.

Pope to wrap up Turkiye trip before heading to Lebanon

ANKARA: Pope Leo XIV arrived in Turkiye on Thursday for a four-day visit where he will hold talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and meet Christian leaders on the first overseas trip of his papacy.&nbsp;The trip, which includes a second leg to Lebanon, begins in the Turkish capital Ankara, where the first American pope landed shortly after midday.&nbsp;&quot;I have very much been looking forward to this trip because of what it means for Christians, but it is also a great message to the whole world,&quot; he told reporters travelling with him on his plane, describing it as a &quot;historic moment&quot;.&nbsp;After paying his respects at the mausoleum dedicated to Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkiye, Leo will head into talks with Erdogan, who is seen as a key player for peace efforts in a region fraught with conflict.&nbsp;Then he will address authorities, civil society and the diplomatic corps before heading to Istanbul in the early evening.&nbsp;Leo&#39;s first steps abroad will be scrutinised by the world&#39;s media, with more than 80 journalists accompanying him on his papal plane.&nbsp;Since his election in May as the leader of the world&#39;s 1.4 billion Catholics, the pope has shown himself to be adept at handling the media, talking to reporters weekly.&nbsp;In a sign of his desire to reach a wide audience, Leo will deliver all his speeches during the trip in English, his native language, rather than the Italian he usually uses.&nbsp;His first address in Turkiye is expected to focus on dialogue with Islam in a country where Christians account for only 0.1 percent of the 86 million inhabitants -- most of them Sunni Muslims.&nbsp;On the doorstep of a conflict-ridden Middle East, the pope who upon his election called for &quot;unarmed and disarming&quot; peace, is expected to address the crises troubling the region.&nbsp;But between the colonnades of Ankara&#39;s monumental presidential palace, Leo will have to tread delicately if he plans to address the sensitive issue of human rights, the arrest of Erdogan&#39;s opponents, or the status of Turkey&#39;s Christians, who are struggling against inequality and exclusion.&nbsp;Promoting unityThe Holy See also acknowledges Turkiye&#39;s efforts in taking in more than 2.5 million mostly Syrian refugees, according to authorities.&nbsp;On the subject of refugees and migrants, Leo has followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Francis, most recently criticising the &quot;extremely disrespectful&quot; treatment of migrants by the government of US President Donald Trump.&nbsp;Friday&#39;s calendar will take on a more religious aspect with the celebration in Iznik of the 1,700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, a gathering of bishops in the year 325 that resulted in a creed, or statement of faith, still central to Christianity.&nbsp;Invited by the Patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, leader of the world&#39;s Orthodox Christians, Leo will take part in a prayer on the shores of Lake Iznik that was initially to include former Pope Francis, who died in April.&nbsp;&quot;Bartholomew and I have already met several times, and I think this will be an exceptional opportunity to promote unity among all Christians,&quot; Leo told journalists late Tuesday.&nbsp;Catholics and Orthodox Christians have been divided since a schism in 1054.&nbsp;Catholics recognise the universal authority of the pope as the head of the Church, while Orthodox Christians are organised into local Churches with their own leaders.&nbsp;Leo&#39;s trip comes as the Orthodox world appears even more fragmented than ever, with the war in Ukraine accelerating the split between the Moscow and Constantinople patriarchates. The pope is the fifth pontiff to visit Turkiye, after Paul VI in 1967, John Paul II in 1979, Benedict XVI in 2006 and Francis in 2014.&nbsp;On Sunday, Leo will head to religiously diverse Lebanon, a nation that has been crushed by a devastating economic and political crisis since 2019 and which has been the target of repeated bombings by Israel in recent days, despite a ceasefire.&nbsp;

Pope Leo XIV begins his first papal trip in Turkiye, holding talks with President Erdogan and Christian leaders, addressing regional conflicts, interfaith dialogue, refugees, and church unity before continuing to Lebanon amid ongoing political and humanitarian crises.

Pope lands in Turkiye to meet Erdogan on first overseas trip

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo XIV Thursday hailed the work of news agencies as a bulwark in an increasingly &quot;post-truth&quot; world, and warned of the dangers of relying on artificial intelligence for information. &quot;The world needs free, rigorous and objective information,&quot; he told an audience at the Vatican of the MINDS International network of news agencies, which includes AFP. &quot;With your patient and rigorous work, you can act as a barrier against those who, through the ancient art of lying, seek to create divisions in order to rule by dividing,&quot; he added. &lsquo;Bulwark of civility&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;You can also be a bulwark of civility against the quicksand of approximation and post-truth.&quot; Careful, ethically-driven reporting was &quot;an antidote to the proliferation of &#39;junk&#39; information,&quot; he said. Leo noted the crisis facing news and media agencies, which have seen their traditional model of selling advertising to fund their work decimated since the advent of the internet, and AI chatbots now dramatically reducing the number of people accessing their websites. &quot;Artificial intelligence is changing the way we receive information and communicate, but who directs it and for what purposes?&quot; the pope asked. &lsquo;We must be vigilant&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;We must be vigilant in order to ensure that technology does not replace human beings, and that the information and algorithms that govern it today are not in the hands of a few.&quot; Leo, the first US head of the Catholic Church, has himself been a victim of &quot;deep fake&quot; videos online, which show him appearing to make speeches pieced together using AI. He had previously called for journalists jailed around the world to be released, and repeated Thursday that their work &quot;can never be considered a crime&quot;. Leo also paid tribute to the journalists killed while working, calling them &quot;victims of war and of the ideology of war, which seeks to prevent journalists from being there at all&quot;. &lsquo;We must not forget them&rsquo;&quot;We must not forget them! If today we know what is happening in Gaza, Ukraine, and every other land bloodied by bombs, we largely owe it to them,&quot; he said. Pope Leo urged citizens to &quot;value and support professionals and agencies that demonstrate seriousness and true freedom in their work&quot;. &quot;Free access to information is a pillar that upholds the edifice of our societies, and for this reason, we are called to defend and guarantee it,&quot; he said.

Says it is vital in a "post-truth" era, warning against AI-driven misinformation; emphasizes ethical journalism, honored fallen reporters, and urged public support for free, independent, and accurate media.

Pope hails role of news agencies in 'post-truth', AI world

<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">CASTEL: Pope Leo XIV announced Tuesday that his first foreign trip as pontiff will take him to Turkiye and Lebanon next month, a journey he described as a &ldquo;historic opportunity&rdquo; to promote Christian unity and deliver a message of peace to the Middle East.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The visit, scheduled for Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, will include a stop in Iznik, Turkiye, to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity&rsquo;s first ecumenical council recognized by both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The trip&rsquo;s timing &mdash; on the anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in southern Israel &mdash; adds symbolic weight to Leo&rsquo;s message of reconciliation.<h3 style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 14pt; margin-bottom: 4pt;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unity and continuity</h3><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Speaking to reporters as he departed the papal retreat in Castel Gandolfo, Leo called the anniversary &ldquo;a moment of authentic unity in the faith&rdquo; with Orthodox Christians, noting it was not only a time to reflect on history but to look forward.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The visit will also fulfill the late Pope Francis&rsquo; wish to travel to Lebanon, which has the highest proportion of Christians in the Middle East and remains the only Arab country led by a Christian head of state.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&ldquo;I go to Lebanon to bring a message of peace and hope to a people who have suffered greatly,&rdquo; Leo said, adding that he seeks to advance dialogue in a region marked by decades of conflict.<h3 style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 14pt; margin-bottom: 4pt;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lebanon&rsquo;s fragile recovery</h3><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lebanon is recovering from years of economic turmoil and the aftermath of a war between Israel and Hezbollah that ended last November under a ceasefire brokered by the United States and France. Although a reformist government has raised hopes of stability, Israel continues to occupy several strategic points on the Lebanese side of the border, while tensions persist over Hezbollah&rsquo;s disarmament.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lebanese Maronite Patriarch Bechara Boutros Ra&iuml; welcomed the papal visit as &ldquo;a sign of unity for all Lebanese, Christians and Muslims alike.&rdquo; The last papal visit to Lebanon was by Benedict XVI in 2012.<h3 style="line-height: 2; margin-top: 14pt; margin-bottom: 4pt;"><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 700; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Calls for peace amid tensions</h3><span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Vatican&rsquo;s announcement came as Israel marked the Oct. 7 anniversary, during which its embassy to the Holy See criticized recent remarks by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican&rsquo;s top diplomat. Parolin had denounced both Hamas&rsquo; &ldquo;inhuman massacre&rdquo; and what he called Israel&rsquo;s &ldquo;disproportionate&rdquo; response in Gaza.<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Leo declined to weigh in on the dispute but reiterated his long-standing call for dialogue and peace. Condemning terrorism, he cited the mounting Palestinian death toll as a &ldquo;tragic reflection of how much hatred exists in the world.&rdquo;<span style="font-size: 18px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: 400; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">&quot;We must reduce hatred, we must return to the ability to dialogue, to seek peaceful solutions,&rdquo; Leo said.

Pope Leo XIV announced Tuesday that his first foreign trip as pontiff will take him to Turkiye and Lebanon next month, a journey he described as a “historic opportunity” to promote Christian unity and deliver a message of peace to the Middle East.

Pope Leo XIV to visit Turkiye and Lebanon on first foreign trip

The pope expressed his &ldquo;profound&rdquo; solidarity with Palestinians and demanded Israel respect international humanitarian law as it pushes its new offensive in Gaza.&ldquo;Before the Almighty Lord who commanded &lsquo;Thou shalt not kill&rsquo; and before all of human history, every person always has an inviolable dignity that must be respected and protected,&rdquo; Leo said Wednesday.The first American pope was interrupted by applause when he referred to Gaza at the end of his weekly general audience. He invited all to join his calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, a diplomatic solution to the conflict and &ldquo;full compliance with international humanitarian law.&rdquo;

Pope Leo XIV called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, urging Israel to respect international humanitarian law and pressing for a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

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