Pope Leo speaks to journalists at Castel Gandolfo, urging to call for peace worldwide. (Photo from the Vatican News)
LAZIO, Italy — Speaking to visiting journalists in the southeastern town of Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV made a brief call to “raise (their) voices for peace,” referring in particular to the volatile situation in the Middle East.
Recalling Holocaust Remembrance Day, the 70-year-old pontiff from the United States stressed: “Let us fight against all forms of antisemitism.”
“I’ll only say that we must pray very much for peace,” he added, in assertive words during the brief message he gave to Italian television as he left Villa Barberini, his residence in Castel Gandolfo, where, as usual, he had spent his Tuesday both resting and working.
Asked by reporters about the situation in the Middle Eastern region, particularly the presence of a naval strike group led by the United States aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in the waters of the Persian Gulf, the pope reiterated his appeal for peace.
“We little ones can raise our voices and always seek dialogue and not violence to resolve these problems, especially on this day when we commemorate the Shoah,” he said.
Leo reaffirmed, on commemorating Holocaust Remembrance Day, what he had already mentioned earlier in the day on his X account, @Pontifex: “Let us fight against all forms of antisemitism.”