Pope Leo XIV has urged people everywhere to protect and nurture even the smallest signs of peace, warning that a confrontational mindset in global and national politics is increasing instability and uncertainty. In his message for the upcoming World Day of Peace, the pope said peace must not be treated as an abstract ideal but as something lived and defended daily. He cautioned that constant appeals for higher military spending and the normalization of hostility risk dulling moral awareness and making conflict appear inevitable. According to the pope, when peace is ignored or dismissed as unrealistic, societies become less scandalized by violence carried out in its name. He encouraged believers and people of goodwill to resist this drift by cultivating peace within themselves and in their relationships, describing peace as a fragile flame that must be guarded with care and intention.
The pope placed particular responsibility on individuals, saying the work of peace begins in the heart and extends into family life, public discourse, and prayer. He warned against the growing tendency to frame politics entirely through fear and enemies, a shift that he said weakens hope and narrows the moral imagination. Pope Leo stressed that accepting the logic of war as normal represents a defeat before violence even begins. Instead, he called for an approach grounded in kindness, humility, and openness to dialogue. Peace, he said, is sustained not only through treaties and diplomacy but through daily choices that reject aggression and foster understanding. These small acts, though often overlooked, create the conditions for broader reconciliation and social stability.
In his message, Pope Leo also condemned the misuse of religious language to justify violence, nationalism, or armed struggle. He described such practices as a distortion of faith that believers must actively oppose through the witness of their lives. According to the pope, religion should never be weaponized to bless conflict or deepen divisions. He called on religious leaders and communities to promote prayer, spirituality, and interreligious dialogue as authentic paths toward peace. These forms of encounter, he said, help build trust across cultures and traditions and counter narratives that reduce complex human realities to ideological battles. Faith, when lived authentically, should disarm hostility rather than inflame it.
The pope further expressed concern about rising global military expenditures and the rapid development of new weapons technologies, particularly those involving artificial intelligence. He warned that delegating life and death decisions to machines risks eroding human responsibility and moral judgment. Education and media, he added, should focus more on the hard won achievements of peacemaking rather than constantly amplifying perceptions of threat. As the Church approaches the conclusion of the Jubilee Year, Pope Leo prayed that its lasting legacy would be a disarmament of hearts and minds. He concluded by reminding readers that goodness itself is disarming, pointing to the humility of the Christmas story as a lasting sign of hope for a world longing for peace.
