Pope Leo XIV began his visit to Turkey on Thursday, calling for an embrace of social and religious diversity in a speech warning of the dangers of polarisation and wars fuelled by global economic and military competition.
In his first speech overseas since becoming pontiff, Pope Leo warned that societies were being “polarised and torn apart” by extreme positions.
“A society is alive if it has a plurality, for what makes it a civil society are the bridges that link its people together,” he said in an address at Turkey’s national library in Ankara. The Turkish capital was his first stop on a six-day trip during which he will also visit Lebanon.
“Justice and mercy challenge the mentality of ‘might is right’, and dare to ask that compassion and solidarity be considered as the authentic criteria for development,” he added.
In the audience was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who earlier on Thursday held private talks with the pontiff at the presidential palace. Mr Erdogan praised his guest for his stance on the Palestine-Israel conflict. Pope Leo has repeatedly called for peace.
Pope Leo with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and first lady Emine Erdogan. AFP
The Pope did not reference any specific modern conflicts, but referred to his predecessor Pope Francis's warning of a “third world war fought piecemeal” as a result of “prevailing strategies of economic
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