Top photo caption: French President Emmanuel Macron and Pope Leo XIV shake hands as they meet with authorities, members of civil society and the diplomatic corps at the Elysee Palace in Paris Sept. 25, 2026, as part of Pope Leo’s four-day apostolic journey to France. OSV News photo/Maurizio Brambatti, pool via Reuters
By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News
OSV News — Pope Leo XIV urged European leaders to courageously choose peaceful dialogue and guard themselves against the illusion that military buildups are the answer to conflicts threatening the continent.
PHOTO GALLERY: Pope Leo in Metz
Addressing religious and civil leaders at the Robert Schuman conference center in the northeastern French city of Metz on the final day of his visit Sept. 28, the Pope lamented the resurgence of war and conflicts in Europe.
“Today, sadly, war has returned, even to Europe: a new ‘senseless slaughter,’ claiming countless civilian lives every day,” he said. “We need to commit ourselves to patient dialogue, to show courage in negotiation and to be willing to give up some positions for the greater good of peace.”
Located near the German border, Metz lies in the Lorraine region, which, along with the Alsace region, was annexed by the German Empire between 1871 and 1918, fueling conflicts between the neighboring countries in both world wars.
The city is also associated with Robert Schuman, a French statesman and devout Catholic regarded as a founding father of European integration. His sainthood cause is underway, and he was declared venerable in 2021.
Pope Leo arrived at Metz-Nancy-Lorraine Airport in the morning and was greeted warmly by a group of children, some of whom asked for autographs and hugs from the pontiff.
After a roughly 30-minute drive to the conference center, the papal motorcade was welcomed by crowds waving white flags and shouting, “Leo.”
Among the participants present at the event, titled “To the roots of Europe for peace and unity,” were French President Emmanuel Macron and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the peace-building Community of Sant’Egidio. In his speech, Pope Leo reflected on Europe’s history, which he said could not be understood without considering its Christian roots.
The Pope noted Christianity’s contributions to the continent, from St. Benedict’s monastic legacy that shaped education, medicine and law — to Schuman’s belief that “Christianity taught the equality of all people by nature, as children of the same God.”
“Far from being an exclusively religious criterion, recognizing Europe’s debt to Christianity helps us understand more clearly that openness to the transcendent is always a constitutive part of the human person and a living source of civilization,” he explained.
Pope Leo also noted that modern Europe is facing a new challenge with the arrival of migrants and refugees “fleeing war and persecution or seeking a better life far from poverty and hardship.”
The Pope encouraged leaders to look to their history and see the arrival of many as an opportunity for genuine cultural integration rather than exclusion.
“To welcome a person means to integrate them as if they were part of one’s own family, offering them the opportunity to develop their gifts, abilities and sensibilities, but also to enter into the life of the household,” he said.
Turning his attention to the conflicts threatening Europe, Pope Leo acknowledged that the search for peace in Europe and the world “must not be confused with a naive form of pacifism.”
Citing the Schuman Declaration, the proposal made in 1950 by the French statesman that is credited with laying the foundation for the modern European Union, the Pope said world peace could not be “safeguarded if constructive efforts are not made commensurate with the dangers that threaten it.”
However, he added, “we must also guard against the illusion that rearmament is the answer.”
Noting the calls for increased military spending, Pope Leo said promoting peace was an active task and that leaders must ask themselves whether they are truly making efforts toward that goal or “whether we are simply seeking to ‘stem the tide of war’ and better prepare ourselves for wars that we assume are still to come.”
Continuing his address, the Pope said multilateralism and international law were the “antidote” to “the desire for domination, which lies at the root of every conflict.”
He also lamented the “increasingly uncivilized” relations between states, where the “value of keeping one’s word is dismissed” and “instead, people boast of lies and deceit.”
“Europe can help to break this cycle through the respect for others that it has learned to cultivate and preserve,” the Pope said. “Over the past 80 years, Europe has amply demonstrated that it is possible to articulate divergent opinions, claims and interests through encounter rather than conflict.”
Earlier in the day, Pope Leo addressed an interreligious meeting at the conference center. Recalling Schuman as a “true ambassador of unity in diversity,” the Pope highlighted the “shared responsibility as men and women of faith” to bear witness to the fact that “it is always possible to meet one another, forge friendships, and seek peace.”
“Dialogue does not diminish our identity, but expresses it with simplicity and truth by opening it to the diversity of the other,” he said.
This “art of encounter,” the Pope added, was needed in the world, especially at a time when God is used to justify violence.
“Indeed, to invoke God’s name in order to justify violence or oppression is to profane that name,” Pope Leo said. “Nothing that disfigures human dignity can claim to be inspired by God.”
As “guardians of our respective traditions,” the Pope said dialogue among religions must “constantly call for the disarmament of hearts and words.”
Religions, he added, are also “guardians of life,” and their fruitfulness is shown “in their loving presence alongside those who are most vulnerable and fragile.”
“To serve life means to surround it with care, presence and tenderness, especially in times of trial, right to the very end,” Pope Leo said. “For those of us who are open to transcendence, our mission is to offer sound points of reference, especially to young people, to help build a communion that respects and upholds the dignity of every human person.”
Junno Arocho Esteves is an international correspondent for OSV News. Follow him on X @jae_journalist.
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