Why Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace and unity resonates in the Middle East

Special Why Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace and unity resonates in the Middle East
The name suggests Pope Leo XIV may seek to to engage with today’s global inequalities and the disruptive forces of technology. (AFP)
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Updated 12 June 2025
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Why Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace and unity resonates in the Middle East

Why Pope Leo XIV’s message of peace and unity resonates in the Middle East
  • New pontiff opened his papacy with a plea for global dialogue, striking a chord in a conflict-torn region
  • Leo’s migrant roots have helped shape a worldview welcomed by Catholic communities of the Arabian Peninsula

LONDON: On May 8, Cardinal Protodeacon Dominique Mamberti stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and announced the name the world had been waiting for.

With a mix of surprise, joy, and curiosity in the crowd below, he revealed that the College of Cardinals had chosen Robert Francis Prevost as the 269th pontiff of the Catholic Church. He would take the name Pope Leo XIV.

Prevost, 69, had appeared on papabile lists circulated by Vatican watchers, but his election surprised not just the Fantapapa players — a fantasy game for papal predictions — but much of the church hierarchy and media.

For days, speculation had centered around Italian Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Holy See’s secretary of state, whose role as the Vatican’s number two and deep diplomatic experience made him a frontrunner.




Leo is a reference to Pope Leo XIII, remembered as the pope of Catholic social teaching. (AFP)

As is often the case with papal elections, the secrecy and discernment of the Conclave delivered a choice that defied predictions, leaving the world to piece together a portrait of the new pontiff after the fact.

Despite the Vatican’s characteristic reluctance to comment on its own decisions, the early signals from Leo have offered some insight into the kind of leader he may be.

His papacy begins at a moment when the Western world, in particular, appears to be searching for moral clarity, especially in relation to ongoing conflicts in the Middle East.

Three immediate clues point to the direction Leo may take.

First, his name. As with all pontifical names, the choice is steeped in symbolism. In this case, Leo is a reference to Pope Leo XIII, remembered as the pope of Catholic social teaching.

In 1891, Leo XIII published Rerum Novarum (“Of Revolutionary Change”), an encyclical that addressed the impact of the Industrial Revolution on workers and called for a Church more engaged with modern social issues.

The name suggests Pope Leo XIV may seek to revive that tradition, engaging with today’s global inequalities and the disruptive forces of technology.

The second indication came from his first words as pope. Delivered in eloquent Italian, he issued a direct and urgent appeal: “Peace in the world.”

In an age marked by war in Gaza, violence in Sudan, and prolonged suffering in Syria, the message struck a chord. It was a simple phrase, but one that carried weight, reminding listeners of the Vatican’s potential to offer moral guidance amid geopolitical chaos.

Third, and perhaps most symbolically, is his nationality. As Aldo Cazzullo, deputy editor of Corriere della Sera, noted, the election of the first North American pope inevitably carries geopolitical meaning.




Prevost, 69,  election surprised much of the church hierarchy and media. (AFP)

Just as John Paul II’s Polish roots shaped his response to Soviet Communism, and Pope Francis’s Argentinian background informed his focus on the poor and the Global South, Pope Leo’s American identity may influence how he engages with the world’s power structures.

“From his first words after the election and his strong emphasis on peace, it is clear that there will be continuity with Pope Francis, though certainly expressed in his own style and sensitivity,” Bishop Paolo Martinelli, Vicar Apostolic of Southern Arabia, told Arab News.

“The choice of name also seems very significant to me. As he himself explained, choosing the name ‘Leo’ he wants to recall Pope Leo XIII, the Pope of Rerum Novarum, who was attentive to the needs of workers.

“He was the pope who faced the Industrial Revolution and defended the dignity of the human person.”

He argued that by aligning himself with that legacy, Leo may be hinting at a similar approach to today’s challenges, especially the rise of artificial intelligence, labor displacement and pervasive economic inequality.

Martinelli also pointed out that while Leo is American by birth, his missionary work in Latin America has shaped his worldview. “Certainly, the election of a pope is connected to the historical context,” he said. “However, that alone is not enough to explain the cardinals’ choice.

BIO

Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, Leo is the first North American pope.

• Chose name ‘Leo’ in tribute to Leo XIII, signaling a focus on workers’ rights.

• Former missionary in Latin America, bringing inclusive outlook to papacy.

“Personality and the ability to embody the church in its unity and universality” played a significant role in his election, he added.

Taken together, the opening moments of Leo’s pontificate paint a clear picture of continuity with his predecessor — particularly in advancing church reform and championing peace and justice in conflict zones such as the Gaza Strip.

Just a week into his papacy, Leo is already emerging as a spiritual and moral successor to Pope Francis, especially in matters concerning the Middle East.

“First of all, Pope Leo XIV is the son of migrants,” said Martinelli. “Catholics in the Arabian Peninsula are, for the most part, migrants themselves. For this reason, I believe he may have the right sensitivity to understand the reality of the faithful living in this part of the world.”




The opening moments of Leo’s pontificate paint a clear picture of continuity with his predecessor. (AFP)

Martinelli pointed to Leo’s first greeting and his Regina Caeli address as evidence of his deep concern for the Middle East. “Both were marked by a strong appeal for peace,” he said. “I am confident that his commitment to peace will be both concrete and consistent.”

Francis, who appointed Leo to key Vatican roles and made him a cardinal in 2023 following years of missionary work in Peru, had been a vocal critic of the wars in Sudan, Gaza, Syria and Yemen.

His remarks — often perceived as a rare moral stance in the Western world — strained relations with Israeli officials. In the days after his death, Israeli embassies were instructed to remove public condolences, and most senior leaders boycotted his funeral.

In contrast, Leo has delivered repeated appeals for peace, both in public appearances and private meetings. Though simple in tone, his words appear to resonate, especially in a region exhausted by conflict.

On May 14, he praised Christian communities in the Middle East who “persevere and remain in their homelands, resisting the temptation to abandon them” despite war, marginalization, or persecution — remarks seen as a veiled reference to the ongoing displacement of Christians from the West Bank by Israeli settlers.

Unlike his predecessor, whose forthright condemnations sometimes led to diplomatic fallout, Leo has so far adopted a more measured yet persistent tone. “I believe his words clearly indicate the path he intends to follow, and they will surely be well received in the Gulf region and throughout the Middle East,” said Martinelli.

While avoiding direct criticism of Israeli or Western leaders, Leo has offered to mediate between warring parties and pledged to “make every effort so that this peace may prevail.”

He also cautioned against framing ongoing conflicts as binary and simplistic narratives that divide the world into good and evil, stressing the need for dialogue — not just between political leaders, but among religious communities — as the only path forward in times of deep moral and societal crisis.

“The commitment to dialogue between people of different faiths is extremely important — vital in an age where religion still risks being exploited for nationalistic purposes,” said Martinelli.

“Committing violence in the name of God is always a betrayal of true religious experience; it is a misuse of religion.”




The secrecy and discernment of the Conclave delivered a choice that defied predictions. (AFP)

For Martinelli, peace in Gaza and across the region must be rooted in interfaith dialogue — particularly between Catholicism, Judaism, and Islam — if it is to be credible and sustainable in a region long marred by sectarian violence and instability.

That dialogue gained fresh momentum during Francis’s historic 2019 visit to the UAE, the first ever papal visit to the Arabian Gulf.

There, Francis and Sheikh Ahmed El-Tayeb, Grand Imam of Egypt’s Al-Azhar Mosque, signed the Document on Human Fraternity, a groundbreaking call to reject violence and extremism.

That message was amplified again during Francis’s 2021 pilgrimage to Iraq, a journey viewed by many as an attempt to mend bridges between the different faiths in the country.

“Pope Francis’ commitment to interreligious dialogue — expressed most notably in his visit to Abu Dhabi and the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity — belongs to a well-established tradition in the church,” Martinelli said.

“This seems to me to be an irreversible path for the Catholic Church. For this reason, I am confident that Pope Leo XIV will carry forward and deepen this journey, which is also essential for promoting peace and reconciliation in the world.”

While it is still too early to say whether Leo will launch new diplomatic initiatives in the region, his early statements suggest that he could seek to position the Vatican as an active mediator, as Francis once did during the Syrian conflict.




Leo has delivered repeated appeals for peace, both in public appearances and private meetings. (AFP)

All signs point to Leo adopting a tone of moral clarity reminiscent of his predecessor: condemning violence, encouraging interfaith cooperation, and offering hope.

What remains uncertain is how effectively he will balance this moral authority with the pragmatic demands of a volatile geopolitical landscape.

What is clear, however, is that the Chicago-born missionary is likely to build on Francis’s diplomatic legacy — one that transformed the Vatican into a modern soft-power institution rooted in moral imperatives.

 


Greenland is a European territory, says French foreign minister

Greenland is a European territory, says French foreign minister
Updated 8 sec ago
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Greenland is a European territory, says French foreign minister

Greenland is a European territory, says French foreign minister

PARIS: Greenland is a European territory and it is normal that Europe and France show their interest, French Foreign Minister Jean Noel Barrot told RTL radio on Sunday when asked about French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to the Arctic island.
Macron visits Greenland on Sunday, in a show of solidarity with Denmark that is meant to send a signal of European resolve after US President Donald Trump threatened to take over the island.


Russia has handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of war dead – news agencies

Russia has handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of war dead – news agencies
Updated 50 min 40 sec ago
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Russia has handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of war dead – news agencies

Russia has handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of war dead – news agencies
  • Russia says it has so far handed Ukraine the bodies of nearly 5,000 Ukrainian service personnel
  • Ukraine and Russia have conducted three exchanges of POWs so far, but have not disclosed exact numbers

MOSCOW: Russia on Sunday handed Ukraine another 1,200 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in the war, Russian state news agencies reported on Sunday, saying Moscow had not received a single Russian corpse in return.

Russian state news agencies TASS and RIA both reported the handover, citing an unnamed source.

It is the fourth in a series of handovers of soldiers’ remains to take place in the past week, in accordance with an agreement reached between Russia and Ukraine at talks in Istanbul earlier this month.

Kyiv and Moscow agreed to each hand over as many as 6,000 bodies and to exchange sick and heavily wounded prisoners of war and those aged under 25.

Russia says it has so far handed Ukraine the bodies of nearly 5,000 Ukrainian service personnel, but has only reported receiving a total of 27 Russian servicemen in return.

Ukraine and Russia have conducted three exchanges of POWs so far, but have not disclosed exact numbers.


1 killed and 19 injured as a hot air balloon crashes in central Turkiye

1 killed and 19 injured as a hot air balloon crashes in central Turkiye
Updated 15 June 2025
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1 killed and 19 injured as a hot air balloon crashes in central Turkiye

1 killed and 19 injured as a hot air balloon crashes in central Turkiye

ISTANBUL: A hot air balloon crashed in central Turkiye on Sunday, leaving its pilot dead and 19 Indonesian tourists injured, a local official said.
In a statement, the governor’s office said the balloon was affected by a sudden change of wind.
It was trying to make a hard landing near the village of Gozlukuyu in Aksaray province, when the pilot fell out of the balloon’s basket and his feet got tangled in a rope, Aksaray Governor Mehmet Ali Kumbuzoglu said.
“Unfortunately, our pilot got stuck under the basket and died,” he said, adding that the injured tourists were taken to a hospital.
Hot air ballooning is a popular tourist activity over the rugged landscape of central Turkiye, which is dotted with ancient churches hewn into cliff faces. The attractions include the “fairy chimneys” of Cappadocia — the tall, cone-shaped rock formations created by natural erosion over thousands of years that are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Video from Ilhas News Agency showed one deflated balloon, its passenger basket lying on its side, as emergency services tended to injured people. An investigation is underway.
State-run Anadolu Agency said another hot air balloon taking off from the same location of Ilhara Valley also made a hard landing early Sunday morning, and that 12 Indian tourists were slightly injured and taken to hospital.
Two Spanish tourists were killed in 2022 when a hot air balloon made a hard landing following a sightseeing tour of Cappadocia.


A Congolese customs worker who resisted corruption is the Catholic Church’s newest model of holiness

A Congolese customs worker who resisted corruption is the Catholic Church’s newest model of holiness
Updated 15 June 2025
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A Congolese customs worker who resisted corruption is the Catholic Church’s newest model of holiness

A Congolese customs worker who resisted corruption is the Catholic Church’s newest model of holiness
  • Floribèrt Bwana Chui Bin Kositi was kidnapped and killed in 2007 after he refused to allow rancid rice from Rwanda to be transported across the border to the eastern Congo city of Goma
  • The head of the Vatican’s saint-making office, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, is presiding over the beatification ceremony Sunday

ROME: The Vatican on Sunday is beatifying a Congolese customs worker who was killed for resisting a bribe, giving young people in a place with endemic corruption a new model of holiness: Someone who refused to allow spoiled rice to be distributed to poor people.
The head of the Vatican’s saint-making office, Cardinal Marcello Semeraro, is presiding over the beatification ceremony Sunday at one of the pontifical basilicas in Rome, St. Paul Outside the Walls.
The event is drawing Congolese pilgrims and much of Rome’s Congolese Catholic community, who will be treated to a special audience Monday with Pope Leo XIV.
Floribèrt Bwana Chui Bin Kositi was kidnapped and killed in 2007 after he refused to allow rancid rice from Rwanda to be transported across the border to the eastern Congo city of Goma.
As an official with the Congolese government’s custom’s quality control office, the 26-year-old knew the risks of resisting bribes offered to public officials. But he also knew the risks of allowing spoiled food to be distributed to the most desperate.
“On that day, those mafiosi found themselves in front of a young man who, in the name of the Gospel, said ‘No.’ He opposed,” his friend Aline Manani said. “And Floribèrt, I think that for me personally, I would say for all young people, is a role model.”
Pope Francis recognized Kositi as a martyr of the faith late last year, setting him on the path to beatification and to possibly become Congo’s first saint. The move fit into the pope’s broader understanding of martyr as a social justice concept, allowing those deemed to have been killed for doing God’s work and following the Gospel to be considered for sainthood.
“Our country almost holds the gold medal for corruption among the countries of the world,” Goma Bishop Willy Ngumbi told reporters last week. “Here, corruption is truly endemic. So, if we could at least learn from this boy’s life that we must all fight corruption … I think that would be very important.”
Transparency International last year gave Congo one of the poorest marks on its corruption perception index, ranking it 163 out of 180 countries surveyed and 20 on the organization’s 0-100 scale, with 0 highly corrupt and 100 very clean.
The beatification has brought joy to Goma at a time of anguish. Violent fighting between government forces and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels has led to the death of thousands of people and the rebels’ capture of the city has exacerbated what already was one of the world’s biggest humanitarian crises.
It has renewed the hopes of many in the country of more than 100 million people whose development has been stifled by chronic corruption, which Francis railed about during his 2023 visit to the country.
Speaking at the Kinshasa stadium then, Francis said Kositi “could easily have turned a blind eye; nobody would have found out, and he might even have gotten ahead as a result. But since he was a Christian, he prayed. He thought of others and he chose to be honest, saying no to the filth of corruption.”
The Italian priest who spearheaded Kositi’s sainthood case, the Rev. Francesco Tedeschi, knew him through their work with the Saint’Egidio Community. He broke down Saturday as he recounted Kositi’s example and Francis’ call for the church to recognize the ordinary holiness in the “saints next door.”
“In the end, this was what Floribert was, because he was just a boy,” Tedeschi said as he began weeping.
At Goma’s Floribert Bwana Chui School of Peace, which is named in honor of Kositi and advocates for social justice, his beatification is encouraging everyone who sees him as a role model, school director Charles Kalimba told The Associated Press.
“It’s a lesson for every generation, for the next generation, for the present generation and for all people. Floribert’s life is a positive point that must be presented to the Congolese nation. We are in a country where corruption is almost allowed, and this is a challenge that must be taken up,” Kalimba said.
Rev. Tedeschi said the martyr designation recognized Kositi died out of hatred for the faith, because his decision to not accept the spoiled food was inspired by the Christian idea of the dignity of everyone, especially the poor.
Being declared a martyr exempts Kositi from the requirement that a miracle must be attributed to his intercession before he is beatified, thereby fast-tracking the process to get to the first step of sainthood. The Vatican must, however, confirm a miracle attributed to his intercession for him to be canonized, a process that can take years or more.


Police say one ‘critically injured’ in shooting at US protest

Police say one ‘critically injured’ in shooting at US protest
Updated 15 June 2025
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Police say one ‘critically injured’ in shooting at US protest

Police say one ‘critically injured’ in shooting at US protest

WASHINGTON: A shooting at a protest against President Donald Trump’s policies in the western state of Utah left one person with “life-threatening injuries,” police said, adding that three others were taken into custody.
Police said the incident occurred around 8:00 p.m. Saturday (0200 GMT Sunday) in Utah’s capital Salt Lake City during a protest that drew about 10,000 people — one of several “No Kings” demonstrations across the United States rallying against Trump.
“We can confirm the shooting resulted in one person being critically injured. The patient has been taken to a hospital with life-threatening (injuries),” said the Salt Lake City police department in a social media post, adding that they had “a person of interest in custody.”
Police Chief Brian Redd stressed during a news conference that the events leading up to the shooting “were very peaceful,” adding that the first person taken in custody had a gunshot wound and was transported to the hospital.
Two other individuals involved in the incident were also taken into custody, he said.
“At this time, there is... no ongoing threats to the public,” Redd said, adding that it was too early in their investigation to say if the shooting was politically motivated.
City Mayor Erin Mendenhall said “this act of violence does not define” Salt Lake City — a Democratic bastion in the deep-red Republican state of Utah.
“The purpose of today’s demonstration was a powerful and peaceful expression until this event and that cannot be overshadowed or silenced by a single act meant to harm,” she said.
“We are a nation that needs our First Amendment right, we deserve to protest in peace. And what happened today I hope will not silence the voices of the public who deserve to have their voices heard.”