Pope Leo XIV warned that modern technology is being \u201cput at the service of war.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter the tragic experiences of the 20th century, aerial bombardment should have been banished forever!\u201d Pope Leo XIV said Monday during an audience with airline executives and staff.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead, as we know, it still exists, and technological development, which is positive in itself, is being put at the service of war. This is not progress, it is regression!\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The pope, speaking to representatives of Italy\u2019s national airline, ITA Airways, along with a delegation from the Lufthansa Group, emphasized that aviation must serve peace rather than conflict.<\/p>\n
\u201cAircraft should always be vehicles of peace, never of war! No one should fear that threats of death and destruction will come from the sky,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Leo XIV also underscored the importance of fostering peace through global travel and cooperation.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn this context, it becomes even more important to chart courses of peace in the skies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The audience highlighted the long-standing relationship between the papacy and Italy\u2019s national airline, dating back to St. Paul VI\u2019s historic 1964 pilgrimage to the Holy Land \u2014 the first papal journey by air. Since then, successive popes have continued the tradition of international apostolic travel.<\/p>\n
The pope noted that he himself plans to rely on ITA Airways for his upcoming trip to Africa in about 20 days.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on papal travel more broadly, Leo XIV described such journeys as a visible expression of the Church\u2019s mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe papal flights are one of the most eloquent symbols of the mission of the successors of Peter in the contemporary age,\u201d he said. \u201cIn a particular way, in his apostolic journeys, the pope appears to everyone as a messenger of peace: His routes are what they should always be, namely bridges of dialogue, of encounter, and of brotherhood.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also praised airline personnel for their professionalism and spirit of service.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy predecessors and the collaborators who accompanied them on their international journeys found in the personnel of Alitalia and ITA not only qualified and experienced professionals, but also people capable of creating a serene, I would say almost family-like, atmosphere, where respect goes hand in hand with devotion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
This story\u00a0was first published\u00a0by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n