Pope: Europe must return to path of dialogue, not military buildup, to end ‘senseless slaughter’
Pope Leo XIV urged European leaders to pursue patient dialogue and courageous negotiations rather than rely on military buildups to address conflict. Speaking in Metz, France, he lamented the return of war to Europe and the civilian deaths caused by what he called a “senseless slaughter.”. At a gathering attended by French President Emmanuel Macron and religious leaders, the pope reflected on Europe’s history and its Christian roots. The speech took place on the final day of Leo’s four-day apostolic journey to France, in a city associated with European integration founder Robert Schuman.
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Pope Leo XIV called on European leaders to pursue dialogue, negotiation and international cooperation rather than treating military expansion as the answer to conflict. Speaking in Metz on the final day of his visit to France, he also linked Europe’s pursuit of peace to its history, Christian roots and approach to welcoming migrants.
Addressing religious and civil leaders at the Robert Schuman conference center on Sept. 28, Leo said war had returned to Europe and described the toll on civilians as a new “senseless slaughter.” He urged leaders to show patience in dialogue, courage in negotiations and willingness to yield positions for the greater good of peace.
The pope said efforts for peace should not be confused with naïve pacifism, but cautioned against the belief that rearmament would solve conflicts. He challenged leaders to consider whether they were actively working for peace or mainly preparing for wars they expected to come.
Leo identified multilateralism and international law as safeguards against the desire for domination, which he said lies at the root of conflict. He also criticized worsening relations among states, including the dismissal of keeping one’s word, and said Europe could help counter this by using encounter rather than conflict to address divergent opinions and interests.
The meeting, titled “At the Roots of Europe for Peace and Unity,” included French President Emmanuel Macron and Andrea Riccardi, founder of the Community of Sant’Egidio. Leo said Europe’s history could not be understood without its Christian roots, citing the influence of St. Benedict’s monastic legacy on education, medicine and law, and Robert Schuman’s belief in the equality of people as children of the same God.
The pope said Europe’s Christian inheritance helps explain the importance of openness to transcendence in human life and civilization. He pointed to migrants and refugees fleeing war and persecution, as well as people seeking better lives away from poverty and hardship, and urged leaders to treat their arrival as an opportunity for cultural integration rather than exclusion.
Leo invoked Schuman, whose 1950 proposal for a European Coal and Steel Community helped lay the foundations for European integration, as an example of unity across differences. Schuman’s sainthood cause is underway; he was declared venerable in 2021.
In an interreligious meeting earlier that day, Leo called dialogue a way to express one’s identity while remaining open to others. He said invoking God to justify violence or oppression profanes God’s name, and urged religious communities to promote “the disarmament of hearts and words.”
He described religions as “guardians of life,” with a responsibility to care for vulnerable people and to offer young people points of reference grounded in respect for every person’s dignity.
Christian ethics prioritizes dialogue over military escalation
Christian ethics gives dialogue priority over military escalation because peace is more than a pause in fighting: it requires patient efforts to restore trust, address injustice, and recognize the dignity of every person, including an adversary. Pope Leo XIV describes dialogue as indispensable to preventing conflict and rebuilding trust, urging humility and patience even when negotiating with difficult parties.
That priority does not mean dialogue must be naïve or that every use of force is always forbidden. Catholic teaching treats armed force as a grave measure, permissible only under strict conditions and as a last resort; escalation can intensify violence and impose lasting suffering on civilians. In the U.S. bishops’ formulation, even force that may be justified must be proportionate and discriminate, and efforts should address the causes of violence and the needs of those harmed.
So the ethical test is not simply whether a policy appears strong, but whether leaders have genuinely pursued negotiation and mediation, whether force is truly necessary to protect people, and whether the likely harm is limited and proportionate. The biblical vision presses Christians toward peacemaking and reconciliation, not retaliation; diplomacy and de-escalation are therefore moral responsibilities, not signs of weakness.