Pope Leon XIV. Photo credit: backgrid / backgrid USA / Profimedia
Pope Leon XIV demanded on Sunday the cessation of the “pandemic of weapons”, lamenting “countless and wounded children” during the world, during the Vatican Angelus prayer.
“We include in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day from all over the world. Let us pray to God to put an end to the pandemic, big and small, which contaminates our world,” said Pope Leon XIV in an English statement, according to France Presse and Agerpres.
The Sovereign American Pontiff in particular urged “not to give in to indifference” in the face of the conflict in Ukraine, three days after a Russian attack on Kiev, resulting in at least 25 dead, including four children, renewing “the insistent call for an immediate armistice and a serious commitment in favor of dialogue”.
“It is time for those responsible to give up the logic of weapons and to engage in the way of negotiation and peace, with the support of the international community,” he insisted.
Leon XIV also referred to the armed attack that took place on Wednesday during a Minnesota school service in the United States, in which two children were killed.
Speaking in English on Annunciation Mass-Mass Shooting (Fittingly at the Angelus), Pope's Plea to Stop “The Pandemic of Arms, Large and Small, Which Infects Our World” Caps A 10-Day period that also Saw 2 False Guard His Alma Alma Mater, Vlarlanova: pic.twitter.com/1xzhjyusbg
– Rocco Palmo (@rocopalmo) August 31, 2025
