Overview

• In his June 26 address to the Roaco assembly, Pope Leo XIV labeled recent assaults on Eastern Christian communities “diabolical” and unprecedented in their brutality.
• He criticized the global arms trade as “shameful” and “unworthy of humanity,” warning that force has supplanted international law and humanitarian norms.
• The pontiff highlighted suffering in Ukraine, Gaza and the Middle East and cited the recent terrorist attack on St. Elijah’s church in Damascus.
• He called for greater recognition and integration of Eastern Catholic rites and traditions, invoking John Paul II’s vision of the Church breathing with both Eastern and Western “lungs.”
• He urged Christians to reject retaliation and sustain beleaguered communities through prayer, humanitarian aid and compassionate witness.