Speaking to reporters on his flight from Malabo to Rome, the pope addressed war, migration, same-sex blessings, and the Vatican\u2019s diplomacy with authoritarian governments.ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT \u2014 Pope Leo XIV spoke bluntly about war, migration, same-sex blessings, and the Holy See\u2019s relations with authoritarian governments during a roughly 20-minute in-flight press conference with journalists traveling with him from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, to Rome after his apostolic journey to Africa.<\/p>\n
Before taking questions, the pope stressed that the primary purpose of a papal trip is pastoral rather than political.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I make a trip \u2014 speaking for myself, but today as pope, bishop of Rome \u2014 especially an apostolic, pastoral trip, it is to find, accompany, and come to know the people of God,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added that such journeys should be understood above all as \u201can expression of wanting to announce the Gospel, proclaim the message of Jesus Christ,\u201d and as a way \u201cto draw close to the people in their happiness, in the depth of their faith, but also in their suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the chaotic state of negotiations aimed at ending the conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, the pope called for a new mindset rooted in peace rather than violence.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly, I would like to begin by saying that we need to promote a new attitude, a culture of peace,\u201d he said. \u201cMany times when we evaluate certain situations, the immediate response is that we must enter with violence, with war, by attacking, and we have seen that many innocent people have died.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leo said the key question was not simply whether a regime should change but how to defend important values without more innocent victims.<\/p>\n
Pope Leo’s Full Press Conference<\/p>\n
\u201cRegime change or no regime change, the question is how to promote the values in which we believe without the death of so many innocent people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Describing the situation as \u201cvery complex,\u201d the pope said the back-and-forth of negotiations had created \u201cthis chaotic and critical situation for the world economy,\u201d while innocent people in Iran were suffering because of the war.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather, I would encourage the continuation of dialogue for peace,\u201d he said. \u201cAs Church, I say again, and as a pastor, I cannot be in favor of war, and I would like to encourage everyone to make every effort to seek responses that come from a culture of peace and not of hatred.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later in the exchange, responding to a question about reported executions by the Iranian regime, the pope issued an unequivocal condemnation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI condemn all actions that are unjust, I condemn the taking of people\u2019s lives. I condemn capital punishment,\u201d Leo said. \u201cI believe that human life is to be respected, and that all people from conception to natural birth (sic),” the Pope said, in an apparent reference to natural death. The Holy Father continued: “their lives should be respected and protected. So when a regime, when a country, takes decisions which takes away the lives of other people unjustly, then obviously that is something that should be condemned.\u201d<\/p>\n
On migration, a major topic ahead of his next international apostolic journey to Spain, the pope said governments have the right to regulate their borders but insisted that wealthier nations must also address the deeper causes driving people to leave poorer countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvidently, the issue of migration is very complex and affects many countries, not only Spain, not only Europe, but also the United States; it is a global phenomenon,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Leo continued: \u201cI personally believe that a state has the right to establish rules at its borders. I do not like the idea that everyone enters as if there were no order, and at times creating even more unjust situations than those they had left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, he challenged richer countries and multinational corporations to do more for developing nations, especially in Africa.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut having said that, I ask: What are we doing in richer countries to change the situation in poorer countries?\u201d he said. Referring to Africa, he added that for many people it is seen as \u201ca place where one can go to take minerals, to take its riches, to enrich others in other countries.\u201d<\/p>\n
The pope insisted that migrants must always be treated with dignity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen people arrive, they are human beings and they deserve the respect that every human being deserves because of human dignity,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to treat human beings in a humane way and not treat them worse than household pets, animals, etc.\u201d<\/p>\n
A French journalist asked Leo how he avoids lending moral legitimacy to authoritarian rulers when he meets them during papal trips. The pope said such encounters can be interpreted in different ways, but he returned to the pastoral purpose of travel and the diplomatic mission of the Holy See.<\/p>\n
\u201cCertainly, the presence of a pope with any head of state can be interpreted in different ways,\u201d he said. \u201cI would go back to something I said in my initial remarks about the importance of understanding the primary purpose of the travel that I do, that the pope does to visit the people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also defended the Vatican\u2019s continued diplomatic engagement even with difficult governments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t always make great proclamations, criticizing, judging, or condemning,\u201d he said. \u201cBut there\u2019s an awful lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to promote justice, to promote humanitarian causes.\u201d<\/p>\n
That work, he said, can include efforts to free political prisoners and respond to hunger and sickness. \u201cSo the Holy See, by maintaining if you will, a neutrality, and looking for ways to continue our positive diplomatic relationship with so many different countries, we\u2019re actually trying to find a way to apply the Gospel to concrete situations, so that the lives of people can be improved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Questioned about the blessing of same-sex couples after a decision by Cardinal Reinhard Marx in Munich and Freising, Leo said Church unity should not be reduced to sexual ethics.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst of all, I think it\u2019s very important to understand that the unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters,\u201d he said. \u201cWe tend to think that when the Church is talking about morality, that the only issue of morality is sexual, and in reality, I believe there are much greater and more important issues, such as justice, the equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion, that would all take priority before that particular issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leo said the Holy See had already made clear to the German bishops that it does not agree with the \u201cformalized blessing of couples,\u201d including homosexual couples or couples in irregular situations, beyond what Pope Francis had permitted.<\/p>\n
Invoking Francis\u2019 well-known statement of \u201cTutti, tutti, tutti,\u201d Leo said: \u201cAll are welcome, all are invited. All are invited to follow Jesus, and all are invited to look for conversion in their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo go beyond that today, I think that the topic can cause more disunity than unity,\u201d he added, \u201cand that we should look for ways to build our unity upon Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ teaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
This story was first published by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.<\/p>\n