Vatican

The Pope: 'So many innocent people die, no more use of weapons'

The Pontiff's first interview granted to Tg1

19 June 2025

Papa Leone XIV: "Non abituiamoci alla guerra né lasciamoci sedurre dal fascino degli armamenti"

3' min read

"Let us come together to seek solutions to war: so many innocent people are dying and the use of weapons must be avoided". A world exclusive on Tg1 aired the first interview of Pope Leo XIV. And the main theme is peace. At the end of his surprise visit to the Vatican Radio Centre in Santa Maria di Galeria, the Pontiff made a strong appeal on the international situation. "Truly worrying. Day and night I try to follow what is happening in so many parts of the world. We speak mainly about the Middle East today, but it is not only there,' Prevost says.

"As I said yesterday in the audience, I would like to renew this appeal for peace," he adds. "Let us try at all costs to avoid the use of weapons and seek through diplomatic means dialogue. Let us work together to seek solutions. There are so many innocent people who are dying and peace must always be promoted'.

Already at the general audience on Wednesday 18 June, the Pope had said that "the heart of the Church is torn by the cries that are rising from the places of war, particularly from Ukraine, Iran, Israel, Gaza". "We must not get used to war! - he urged - On the contrary, we must reject as a temptation the allure of powerful and sophisticated armaments'. And 'in the name of human dignity and international law' he had repeated 'to those responsible what Pope Francis used to say: war is always a defeat! And with Pius XII: 'Nothing is lost with peace. Everything can be lost with war'".

The Pope: Vatican the world's first entirely 'green' state

The Vatican Radio Centre in Santa Maria di Galeria visited by the Pope in the past at the centre of a long legal dispute over the emission of electromagnetic waves. Pope Francis decided a year ago with the apostolic letter 'Brother Sun' to turn it into an agri-voltaic centre, for the production of clean electricity with photovoltaic panels that will allow the Vatican City State to become completely self-sufficient. The first State in the world powered entirely by clean energy. Pope Leo's comment to Tg1 was: "This is certainly what is in the project, we need to finish the agreements with the State but it is truly a wonderful opportunity and I think that this commitment on the part of the Church offers an example that is very important: we all know the effects of climate change and we really need to take care of all of creation as Pope Francis has so clearly taught".

Iran's ambassador: 'On nuclear power we are open to dialogue'

The Pope's words to Tg1 on Thursday 19 June on "coming together to seek solutions to the war" find an echo in the position expressed to Avvenire by the Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Holy See Mohammad Hossein Mokhtari. "If the Holy See were to propose it, I would be the first to guarantee Iran's willingness to sit around a table in the Vatican with the United States to discuss the nuclear issue," Mokhtari says, translating into concrete terms the Vatican's willingness to "bring enemies together" already announced by Leo XIV. On one condition, however, warns Tehran's diplomatic representative in the Vatican: "It is necessary to stop the aggression of the Zionist regime".

"Iran was already in talks with the US on the nuclear issue," Mokhtari emphasised, "and perhaps we would have even come to an agreement if Netanyahu and his government had not attacked us. Our willingness to meet has always been there. But the Zionist regime wanted to sabotage the talks. According to the UN statutes, we are facing the aggression of an independent state. Indeed, it is a UN member striking another UN member'. "There is a clear violation of international law. But no one has moved even after the killing of hundreds of civilians. The international bodies created to ensure peace and stability in the world turn the other way when it comes to Israel: it also happens with the genocide in Gaza where humanitarian aid cannot even enter. However, as our foreign minister said, as soon as the aggression stops, we will resume dialogue,' he adds.