Leo XIV slams ‘diabolic’ violence in the East, and the return of ‘might makes right’
During an audience with representatives from the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches, the pontiff launched a harsh warning to the leaders of the world over the unresolved wars from Ukraine to the Middle East. The pope also called on Christians around the world to learn from those who are the seed of forgiveness and salvation amid the bombs. In the West, Christians must realise “Eastern Catholics today are no longer our distant cousins who celebrate unfamiliar rites”.
Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Leo XIV met with members of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO), which is currently holding its Plenary Assembly in Rome,
In his address, the pontiff made a plea for peace but also issued a stern warning to the leaders of the world amid the tragic news of the last few weeks.
“People must not die because of fake news,” Leo said. “It is truly distressing to see the principle of ‘might makes right’ prevailing in so many situations today, all for the sake of legitimizing the pursuit of self-interest. It is troubling to see that the force of international law and humanitarian law seems no longer to be binding, replaced by the alleged right to coerce others.”
ROACO is meeting in the Vatican at a time when Eastern Christians are caught up in wars from the Middle East to Ukraine.
“Yet today, violent conflict seems to be raging in the Christian East with a diabolical intensity previously unknown,” Leo lamented. “Our hearts bleed when we think of Ukraine, the tragic and inhumane situation in Gaza and the Middle East, ravaged by the spread of war.
“All of us, by virtue of our humanity, are called upon to examine the causes of these conflicts, to identify those that are real and to attempt to resolve them. But also to reject those that are false, the result of emotional manipulation and rhetoric, and to make every effort to bring them to light.”
The day after the end of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran and direct US intervention, with all parties claiming victory and an arms race that now involves every corner of the world, the pope asked: “After centuries of history, how can anyone believe that acts of war bring about peace and not backfire on those who commit them? How can we think that we are laying the foundations of the future apart from cooperation and a global vision inspired by the common good? How can we continue to betray the desire of the world’s peoples for peace with propaganda about weapons buildup, as if military supremacy will resolve problems instead of fueling even greater hatred and desire for revenge?
“People are beginning to realize the amount of money that ends up in the pockets of merchants of death; money that could be used to build new hospitals and schools is instead being used to destroy those that already exist!”
There is also another question in the pope's heart. “I ask myself: as Christians, in addition to feeling outraged, speaking out and rolling up our sleeves as peacemakers and promoters of dialogue, what else can we do?
“I believe that first and foremost we really need to pray. It is up to us to make every tragic news story, every newsreel that we see, a cry of intercession before God. And then to offer help, just as you do and as many others can do through you.”
The history of the Christian East itself indicates that there is something else, the strength of bearing witness. “It is our call to remain faithful to Jesus, without allowing ourselves to end up in the clutches of power,” Leo explained.
“It is our call to imitate Christ, who conquered evil by the love he showed on the cross, and to show a way of reigning quite different from that of Herod and Pilate. Herod, for fear of being deposed, murdered children, who even today continue to be torn apart by bombs; Pilate washed his hands, as we risk doing every day until we arrive at the point of no return.”
Thus, we should look at Jesus and his cross, “which radiates the strength of forgiveness, the hope of new beginnings, and the resolve to remain honest and transparent in a sea of corruption. Let us follow Christ, who freed hearts from hatred, and show by our example how to break free of the mindset of division and revenge.”
The pontiff said that he wanted to “spiritually embrace all those Eastern Christians who respond to evil with good. Thank you, dear brothers and sisters, for the witness you give, especially when you remain in your lands as disciples and witnesses of Christ.”
Beyond the wounds caused by war and terrorism, which recently hit Mar Elias church in Damascus, the East is home to the "People of God who persevere by looking up to heaven, praying to God, and loving their neighbors.”
Some liturgies “allow God to dwell in time and space,” with “centuries-old chants imbued with praise, glory, and mystery, which raise an incessant plea for forgiveness for humanity.”
There are "men and women who, often nameless, join the great ranks of martyrs and saints of the Christian East”.
In the night of war, there is a “light of wisdom and salvation” that Leo XIV wants “to be better known in the Catholic Church, where it is largely unknown and where, in some places, the faith is in danger of becoming lifeless” precisely because “the hope expressed repeatedly by Saint John Paul II” of a Church once again capable of breathing “with both two lungs, the Eastern and the Western” has not been realised.
“The Christian East, however, can only be preserved if it is loved, and it can only be loved if it is known,” the pope said, entrusting a specific task to seminaries and Catholic universities and colleges.
“Eastern Catholics today are no longer our distant cousins who celebrate unfamiliar rites, but our brothers and sisters who, due to forced migration, are our next-door neighbors,” he said. “Their sense of the sacred, their deep faith, confirmed by suffering, and their spirituality, redolent of the divine mysteries, can benefit the thirst for God, latent yet at the same time present, in the West.”
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