ROME – Pope Leo XIV on Friday echoed his predecessor’s urgent appeal for global disarmament, warning that lasting peace cannot be achieved while nations continue to fuel the arms race.

“There must also be a resolve to halt the production of instruments of destruction and death, since, as Pope Francis noted in his last Urbi et Orbi message: No peace is ‘possible without true disarmament (and) the requirement that every people provide for its own defense must not turn into a race to rearmament’,” the American pontiff said during an audience with diplomats accredited to the Holy See.

The newly elected American pope also emphasized that peace must be grounded in justice and respect for human dignity.

“Working for peace requires acting justly,” he said, urging leaders to foster harmony in society by supporting the family as “a small but genuine society” and respecting the dignity of all, especially the vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, the sick, the unemployed, and migrants.

Reflecting on his own roots as a descendant of immigrants, Pope Leo stressed that dignity remains constant regardless of one’s status.

“We are all creatures willed and loved by God,” he said.

He concluded with a call for global renewal and unity, urging the world to “leave conflicts behind” and work together for justice and peace, especially in war-torn regions like Ukraine and the Holy Land.

Meanwhile, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin said a potential meeting between Pope Leo and US Secretary of State JD Vance during the pope’s inauguration remains uncertain due to tight scheduling.
PNA/ANSA