Shafaqna English-In his first public address in France, Pope Leo XIV called for nuclear weapons to be banned and for justice and right reason to prevail, since peace “is not a balance of power” but is rather built each day through dialogue and justice.
Pope Leo XIV met privately with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on Friday morning, just after his arrival in Paris for his four-day Apostolic Journey to France.
The Pope then addressed the authorities, civil society, and diplomatic corps, recalling his own French heritage and assuring the nation of his prayers.
Pope Leo XIV urged the French Republic to “remain a tireless champion of peace and multilateralism”.
“May France, faithful to its traditional values, work for a peace that is unarmed and disarming, and responsibly offer its unique contribution to that goal,” he said. “May your liberty grow in constant concern for the common good.”
Pope Leo then noted his focus in Magnifica Humanitas on artificial intelligence, saying Respect for human dignity and our fundamental rights and freedoms must keep pace with societal change and technological progress.
“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a ‘paradise of machines’ invading and conditioning our daily lives,” he said, “there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good.”
Sources: Vatican News