Pope Leo XIV has issued a sweeping moral condemnation of warfare and the exploitation of the earth’s resources, calling those responsible thieves who rob all of humanity of its chance for a peaceful and serene future.
Speaking during his weekly address after the Angelus prayer on Sunday, April 26, the Pontiff linked his remarks to Ukraine’s commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster, describing the accident as a lasting mark on humankind’s collective conscience.
He warned that Chornobyl remains a warning over the use of ever more powerful technologies, and expressed hope that wisdom and responsibility would prevail at all decision-making levels so that atomic power could always be used to support life and peace.
Drawing on the day’s Gospel reading, which uses the metaphor of a sheep thief, the Pope said thieves appear in many forms, listing superficial lifestyles driven by consumerism, deep-seated prejudices, and wrong ideas among them. He then extended the metaphor to those who plunder the earth’s resources and wage bloody wars, saying such actors are stealing from all of humanity the chance of a future of peace and serenity.
The remarks came shortly after the Pope returned from a 10-day tour across four African nations. The visit underscored his engagement with the developing world and his increasingly vocal stance on global justice issues.
Pope Leo XIV, the first American to hold the papacy, has attracted the criticism of United States President Donald Trump after becoming more outspoken against war and despotism. His Sunday address is expected to deepen that tension, given its direct moral framing of resource exploitation and armed conflict as acts of theft against humanity as a whole.
