ROME — Pope Leo XIV used his first Easter speech Sunday to deliver a resounding call for peace in times of renewed war, declaring, “Let those who have weapons lay them down!” “Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace!” Leo said. At the end of his speech, Leo issued Easter greetings in 10 languages, including Arabic, Chinese and Latin. Now, the Iran war has raised the stakes. She added, “He’s preaching peace like a pope ought to, not about standing up to Trump. When I heard him say that, I thought to myself: We’ve got a great pope on our hands.”

Source: Washington Post April 05, 2026 22:46 UTC