(ZENIT News / Castelgandolfo, 11.05.2025).- After a day of rest at the papal villa in Castel Gandolfo, Pope Leo XIV stepped beyond the gates of Villa Barberini, and into the glow of cameras. It was Tuesday, November 4, a date that coincided with Italy’s Armed Forces Day — a point the Pope chose to honor at once. “A country has the right to maintain its military,” he said, pausing before a line of microphones. “But for one purpose only: to defend peace, and to build it.”
From this simple premise — peace as both shield and task — unfolded a conversation that ranged across continents and crises, touching on Venezuela, the Middle East, the United States, and even the dignity of workers. It was an impromptu dialogue, but one that revealed once again the pontiff’s instinct to read the signs of the times with moral precision and pastoral realism.
Turning first to Latin America, the Pope expressed concern over the rising tension between the United States and Venezuela, where naval deployments and counternarcotics operations have sparked talk of a “new cold war” in the Caribbean. “Violence never wins,” he said with quiet gravity. “I read just moments ago about ships drawing closer to Venezuela’s shores. The right path, always, is dialogue — finding just ways to solve the problems that any nation might face.” His words, simple yet deliberate, carried the weight of a pastor urging diplomacy over deterrence, persuasion over power.
Attention soon shifted to the Middle East, where renewed violence in Gaza and provocative settler incursions in the West Bank have placed an already fragile truce at risk. “The ceasefire is delicate,” Leo XIV observed, noting that at least the first phase of the October 10 peace accord was still intact. “Now we must look to the second stage — how governance can be structured, how the rights of all peoples can be secured.” He spoke candidly about the complexities of the region, acknowledging the contradictions between Israel’s pledges and its actions. “It is truly a complicated issue,” he said, “but we must continue working together for justice — justice for every people.”
The pontiff’s attention was then drawn back to his native United States, where the Archdiocese of Chicago has faced controversy after local authorities prohibited Catholic priests from offering Communion to migrants held in detention. His response was firm yet pastoral. “The role of the Church is to preach the Gospel,” he said, citing Matthew 25: “At the end of time, we will be asked: How did you welcome the stranger? Did you welcome him — or not?” He called on officials to consider not only the legal but also the spiritual rights of those detained. “I would invite the authorities,” he said, “to allow pastoral workers to minister to these people. Many have been separated from their families for long periods; no one knows what they endure. But their spiritual needs must be respected.”
From human dignity, the Pope moved to another dimension of it — the world of labor. Speaking on the eve of the upcoming Jubilee of Work, he lamented the growing number of workplace fatalities, citing the recent death of a 66-year-old construction worker in Rome’s Torre dei Conti collapse. “The voice of the Church stands for human rights,” he said. “We must all work together. Every person has the right to decent work — work that allows one to provide for one’s family with dignity.” He added that the Jubilee should not be an abstract commemoration, but “a sign of hope, a moment to unite our efforts in finding real solutions, not merely to comment on problems.”
As the brief encounter drew to a close, one final question: the case of Marko Ivan Rupnik, the former Jesuit artist accused of abuse by several religious women. His mosaics, once celebrated, now stir controversy in many churches and institutions. “Out of sensitivity toward those who have spoken of their suffering, many works have been covered or removed,” the Pope acknowledged. “We are aware of this matter.”
He confirmed that a new canonical process had recently begun. “Judges have been appointed, but judicial processes take time,” he explained. “I know it is difficult for victims to be asked for patience. Yet the Church must respect the rights of all persons. The presumption of innocence applies here as well. We hope this process will bring clarity and justice to everyone involved.”
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