Pope Leo lamented that the world was seeing an unusual number of bloody conflicts during his first trip outside Italy as Catholic leader on Thursday, and he warned that a third world war was being “fought piecemeal” with humanity’s future at risk.
In his first speech given overseas since his election in May to lead the 1.4 billion-member church, Leo, the first U.S. pope, said “ambitions and choices that trample on justice and peace” were destabilizing the world.
He told political leaders in Turkey that the world was experiencing “a heightened level of conflict on the global level, fuelled by prevailing strategies of economic and military power.”
“We must in no way give in to this,” he said at an event with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan after they held a private meeting. “The future of humanity is at stake.”
Speaking before the Pope, Erdogan said that he welcomed the Pope’s “astute stance” on the Palestinian issue and hoped the visit would be beneficial for humanity at a time of tension and uncertainty.
In September, Leo met Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the Vatican and raised the “tragic situation” in Gaza with him.
The first U.S. pope chose mainly Muslim Turkey as his first overseas destination to mark the 1,700th anniversary of a landmark early church council there that produced the Nicene Creed, still used by most of the world’s Christians today.
Leo landed in the capital of Ankara on Thursday for what is a crowded three-day itinerary in Turkey, before heading on to Lebanon. It will be closely watched as he makes his first speeches overseas and visits sensitive cultural sites.
In a country where less than one per cent of the population is Christian, the Pope’s visit is seen as an attempt to build bridges and deliver a message of peace to a fractured Middle East.
Pope Francis, who had visited Turkey in 2014, planned to visit the country again, along with Lebanon, but was unable to go because of his worsening health.
“Pope Francis was well liked in Turkey. He was recognized as a compassionate and wise person with a strong humanitarian side,” said Canan Tercan, an associate professor of political science and international relations at Istanbul Aydın University.
She said the fact that Leo has demonstrated the same values is encouraging, and she hopes he is able to play a larger role in advocating for peace.
“The Vatican is not only an institution concerned with individual worship, but also a strong organization with a mission for social peace and justice.”
Papal trips abroad draw global attention
The Turkish and Vatican flags flew above the cockpit as Leo disembarked from the plane, to be greeted by a Turkish delegation led by the country’s culture and tourism minister.
Speaking to journalists aboard the papal flight from Rome, Leo said he wanted to use his first overseas trip to urge peace for the world and to encourage people of different backgrounds to live together in harmony.
“We hope to … announce, transmit, proclaim how important peace is throughout the world,” the Pope said at the beginning of the three-hour flight. “And to invite all people to come together, to search for greater unity, greater harmony.”
Foreign travel has become a major part of the modern papacy, with popes attracting international attention as they lead events with crowds sometimes in the millions, give foreign policy speeches and conduct international diplomacy.
“It’s a very important trip because we do not know much yet about Leo’s geopolitical views, and this is the first big chance for him to make them clear,” Massimo Faggioli, an Italian academic who follows the Vatican, told Reuters.
Meeting with Turkish president, Orthodox patriarch
Leo was elected in May by the world’s Catholic cardinals to succeed the late Pope Francis. A relative unknown on the world stage before his election, Leo spent decades as a missionary in Peru and only became a Vatican official in 2023.
Leo, 70, will fly on Thursday evening to Istanbul, home to Patriarch Bartholomew, spiritual leader of the world’s 260 million Orthodox Christians.
Orthodox and Catholic Christians split in the East-West Schism of 1054, but have generally sought in recent decades to build closer ties.
Pope Leo, speaking Friday at a Vatican event that brings members from around the world together, mentioned Canada and the U.S. experiencing ‘difficulties.’ The remarks came not long after U.S. President Donald Trump announced he was cutting off trade talks with Canada.
Leo and Bartholomew travel on Friday to Iznik, 140 kilometres southeast of Istanbul and once called Nicaea, where early churchmen formulated the Nicene Creed, which lays out what remain the core beliefs of most Christians today.
In a departure from normal practice — popes usually speak Italian on foreign trips — Leo is expected to speak English in his speeches in Turkey.
On the flight to Ankara, two journalists presented the American pope with pumpkin pies, a staple of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday that is also taking place on Thursday.
Turkey is a key regional power and Erdoğan has been heavily involved in geopolitical issues beyond its borders.
Erdi Ozturk, a senior lecturer in politics and international relations at London Metropolitan University, says Turkey’s political climate is “crowded” and he isn’t sure the Pope’s visit will gain much traction domestically.
“Turkey has been suffering from shrinking economic conditions,” he told CBC News in an interview.
Then there are all the international issues Ankara is heavily involved in, Ozturk said.
“Turkey has been trying to create a long-lasting permanent peace between the PKK and the Turkish states,” he said, referring to the militant Kurdish separatist group. “Turkey has been busy in Syria, Turkey has been dealing with Gaza, Turkey is trying to play a role in the negotiation process between Ukraine and Russia.”
When it comes to the war in Ukraine, Kyiv has asked the Vatican to take on a more formal role as a mediator. In a letter, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked the Vatican to help negotiate the return of children who were taken to Russia during the war.
