Pope Leo XIV opened his first international trip yesterday with a call for unity, renewed dialogue and a rejection of division and violence. Source: The Tablet.
Speaking in the Turkish capital Ankara during his formal welcome by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Pope said he hoped Türkiye could be “a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples” and serve the cause of a “just and lasting peace”.
He said the country was “inextricably linked to the origins of Christianity” and a land that invites a fraternity “that recognises and appreciates differences”.
Beginning a six-day apostolic journey that will also take him to Lebanon, the Pope said the region’s peoples can help remind the world that peace, human dignity, and fraternity “are the only sure foundations for our common future”.
The Presidential Palace where he spoke has become a symbol of Türkiye’s contemporary political authority since Mr Erdoğan inaugurated it in 2014. Bombed during the failed 2016 coup attempt, it remains the seat of his authority.
Before meeting Mr Erdoğan, the Pope paid his respects at the tomb of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder and first president of the Turkish Republic.
In his remarks welcoming Leo, Mr Erdoğan praised the cultural openness and interreligious harmony of Turkish society and his country’s commitment to peace and humanitarian assistance, citing its welcome to refugees from Syria’s long civil war.
In his speech, the Pope rejected the mentality of “might is right”, calling for a renewed “culture of encounter” to respond to the “globalisation of indifference”.
Justice and mercy, he said, must guide political and social life. He also warned that artificial intelligence risks entrenching existing inequalities because it “simply reproduces our own preferences”.
The Pope appealed for cooperation to “repair the damage already done to the unity of our human family”.
Recalling his predecessor’s description of today’s conflicts as “a third world war fought piecemeal”, Pope Leo warned: “We must not give in to this! The future of humanity is at stake.” He said the Vatican seeks to work with all nations committed to the integral development of each person.
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Pope Leo rejects ‘might is right’ at start of first foreign visit (By Elias Turk, CNA via The Tablet)
