The centerpiece of this Easter Sunday was Pope Leo XIV’s address from St. Peter’s Square in Rome, where the pontiff delivered his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” (“to the city and to the world”) message — and turned it into a sweeping condemnation of global violence.
“Whoever bears arms, let them lay them down,” the Pope declared, according to Greek outlet Ethnos. “Whoever holds the power to wage wars, let them choose peace.” The New York Times reported that Leo renewed his pleas for peace and warned of a world growing dangerously “indifferent to violence.” Germany’s Der Spiegel noted the address focused heavily on the many active conflicts currently tearing at the international order.
It was a defining moment for a relatively new pope staking out moral authority on the world stage — a direct challenge to warring parties from the Middle East to beyond.