Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV has renewed the Church’s strong appeal for peace, calling on diplomats to become sincere builders of dialogue and hope in a world marked by conflict and division.
Speaking at the Jubilee for Italian Diplomacy during a pilgrimage of Italian diplomats, Pope said true diplomacy must be rooted in hope, honesty and a genuine desire for justice. He described hope as the strength that moves people to work steadily for the good that is still lacking in the world.
Pope said only those who truly hope are able to support dialogue even in moments of tension and difficulty. According to him, authentic diplomacy is not guided by self interest or fragile compromises between rivals, but by the courage to seek sincere and lasting agreements.
Pointing to Jesus as the model of reconciliation and peace, Pope Leo said Christ’s example offers hope to all peoples and teaches humanity how to live relationships marked by dialogue and mutual understanding.
He also stressed the importance of honesty in public life, reminding diplomats that words and actions must always match. He said dialogue requires careful listening and responsible language that reflects truth rather than ambiguity.
To be authentic Christians and responsible citizens, Pope said, people must share a language that expresses reality clearly and helps build harmony among nations.
Recalling the historic appeal made by Paul VI at the United Nations sixty years ago, Pope Leo repeated the powerful message, calling for an end to war and urging humanity to let peace guide the future of all peoples.
Peace, he said, is a shared duty that unites the human family in the search for justice and remains the lasting good that everyone hopes for.
Concluding his address, Pope encouraged diplomats to be men and women of dialogue who can read the signs of the times with wisdom, inspired by Christian humanism that has shaped Italian and European culture.