Pope Leo Promises To Make Peace, Offers Vatican To Mediate Global Conflict

JAKARTA - Pope Leo XIV vowed to make every effort for the sake of peace and offered the Vatican as a mediator in a global conflict, saying war was "negligible".

Leo, who was elected last week to replace the late Pope Francis, has repeatedly called for peace in the early days of his papality.

His first words to the crowd in St. Peter's Square were "Peace be with you all".

Pope Leo returned to discuss the matter while speaking to members of the Eastern Catholic Church, which is partly based in conflict-torn places such as Ukraine, Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq, and often faces persecution as a religious minority.

"The Holy Throne is always ready to help bring the enemy together, meet face to face, to talk to each other, so that people everywhere can once again find hope and restore the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace," Leo said.

"War is inevitable. Weapons can and must be silenced, because weapons do not solve the problem, but only add to it. Those who make history are carriers of peace, not those who sow the seeds of suffering," he continued.