Pope Leo XIV warned on Monday that relations between nations were becoming increasingly uncivilised with people boasting of “lies and deceit,” urging Europe to help break the cycle and foster respect in international ties.
Speaking in the city of Metz near the border with Germany, where he was wrapping up a four-day visit to France, Leo did not mention any world leaders by name.
The pope sees Europe as a counterweight to major powers and has in the past called on the European Union to overcome tensions and rediscover unity in pursuit of peace in Ukraine and beyond.
Leo, the first US pontiff, has repeatedly clashed with President Donald Trump in recent months over the harsh crackdown on immigration in the United States and the war on Iran.
Trump has called him “weak” on crime and “terrible” on foreign policy.
“Relations between individuals and states are becoming increasingly uncivilised. The value of keeping one’s word is dismissed. Instead, people boast of lies and deceit,” the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics said, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Europe can help to break this cycle through the respect for others that it has learned to cultivate and preserve,” Leo said, on the first official papal visit to France in nearly two decades.
Throughout his trip, the pope has appeared smiling and warm, readily engaging with crowds.
On Monday morning, the pontiff, who is passionate about aviation, spent half an hour in the cockpit of the Air France plane that flew him to the city on the final leg of the apostolic journey, Air France told AFP.
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