Pope Leo XIV on Friday told diplomats to the Vatican that the Holy See has a “full willingness” to support any initiative that promotes peace and harmony in the world.
Noting that conflicts are rising in the world, the pontiff pointed to the Holy Land, where despite the truce announced in October 2025, civilians “continues to endure a serious humanitarian crisis, adding further suffering to that already experienced.”
Health officials in Gaza on Friday said at least 13 people were killed after Israel made several strikes in the east of Gaza City. The Israeli army said this was in retaliation to a failed projectile launched by Hamas from the area.
Bulgarian diplomat Nickolay Mladenov has been chosen as the director of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Mideast peace plan, which was delivering in the October ceasefire ending more than two years of fighting between Israel and Hamas after a horrific attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens in 2023.
Pope Leo said the Vatican is especially attentive to any diplomatic initiative that seeks to guarantee to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip “a future of lasting peace and justice in their own land, as well as to the entire Palestinian people and the entire Israeli people.”
“In particular, the two State solution remains the institutional perspective for meeting the legitimate aspirations of both peoples; yet sadly, there has been an increase in violence in the West Bank against the Palestinian civilian population, which has the right to live in peace in its own land,” the pope told the diplomats.
He was referring recent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians in the West Bank, coupled by this week’s approval of a settlement project near Jerusalem that would effectively cut the West Bank into two pieces – which would make the Two State Solution nearly impossible.
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In his speech – which for the first time by a pope to diplomats in history, was in English – Pope Leo repeated his “urgent appeal that peaceful political solutions to the current situation will be sought,” referring particularly to Venezuela.
On January 3, 2026, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a military operation in the capital, Caracas. Venezuela says at least 100 military people from their country and Cuba were killed in the operation.
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In his address to the diplomats, Pope Leo renewed his appeal to respect the will of the Venezuelan people, “and to safeguard the human and civil rights of all, ensuring a future of stability and concord.”
The pontiff also spoke about the ongoing war in Ukraine and the suffering inflicted on the civilian population.
“Faced with this tragic situation, the Holy See strongly reiterates the pressing need for an immediate ceasefire, and for dialogue motivated by a sincere search for ways leading to peace,” he said.
“I make an urgent appeal to the international community not to waver in its commitment to pursuing just and lasting solutions that will protect the most vulnerable and restore hope to the afflicted peoples. I likewise emphasize the Holy See’s full willingness to support any initiative that promotes peace and harmony,” Leo added.
The pontiff also said that peace is possible, pointing to episodes in the past that ended conflicts that often seemed impossible to end.
“I think, for example, of the Dayton Accords, which thirty years ago put an end to the bloodstained war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Despite difficulties and tensions, they opened up the possibility of a more prosperous and harmonious future. I think too of the Joint Declaration of Peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, signed last August. We hope this will pave the way for a just and lasting peace in the South Caucasus, and resolve the outstanding issues to the satisfaction of both parties,” Leo said.
“I likewise call to mind the efforts made in recent years by the Vietnamese Authorities to improve relations with the Holy See and the conditions in which the Church functions in the country,” he said.
Follow Charles Collins on X: @CharlesinRome
