Pope: May France remain a champion of peace and multilateralism

By Devin Watkins

Pope Leo XIV met privately with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace on Friday morning, just after his arrival in Paris for his four-day Apostolic Journey to France.

The Pope then addressed the authorities, civil society, and diplomatic corps, recalling his own French heritage and assuring the nation of his prayers.

He recalled that France has served as a cultural, artistic, and spiritual beacon for Europe and the world for centuries.

“The many brilliant French scholars who were also faithful Catholics demonstrates clearly how the sciences and the arts, literature, and philosophy can contribute to the good of humanity when they are directed toward the pursuit of beauty, goodness and truth, that the world may have life,” said the Pope.

He expressed appreciation for the mastery shown by French architects and artists in rebuilding the Cathedral of Notre-Dame after the 2019 fire.

Calling it an “impressive technical achievement,” the Pope said the reconstruction of Notre-Dame showed that something considered irreparably destroyed can be reborn through mutual cooperation.

Pope Leo said France bears deep Christian roots and the nation’s soul draws from Christianity “a rich spiritual, cultural, intellectual, artistic, and missionary élan (spirit).”

In 16th-century humanism, French philosophers united the ancient Greek and Roman heritage with the Christian faith and promoted the recognition of human rights based on the nature of the human person, especially religious freedom.

Pointing to France’s national motto, he said liberty, equality, and fraternity “refer to universal ethical imperatives that also find in the Gospel message an inexhaustible source of inspiration and fulfillment.”

Pope Leo then noted his focus in Magnifica Humanitas on artificial intelligence, saying respect for human dignity and our fundamental rights and freedoms must keep pace with societal change and technological progress.

“If we are to avoid losing our humanity amid a ‘paradise of machines’ invading and conditioning our daily lives,” he said, “there is an urgent need for education in ethical discernment and the capacity to acknowledge the moral good.”

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Turning to France’s “rich and varied social fabric,” the Pope praised the efforts of Catholic men and women who continue to care for the welfare of the poor and underpriviledged.

The Church, he added, seeks to be “the living face of God’s own mercy and compassion,” recalling the charitable legacy of St. Vincent de Paul.

Pope Leo XIV noted that our modern sensibilities seek to eliminate every form of suffering, saying this tendency often “brings the risk of self-delusion.”

“When science and technology are not guided by a deeper wisdom,” he said, “they can offer immediate solutions that apparently address people’s wishes and their pain, but can seriously divert them from the greater good to which they aspire.”

Mutual respect and the protection of every human life is a duty borne by every person, he said, noting that it begins with conversion of heart and mind and requires selfless commitment to the good of others.

Pope Leo encouraged Christians to engage in public service guided by the light of faith, noting that authentic secularity does not exclude religion but values it as an “educational resource.”

He thanked France for its support for education and humanitarian work in the Middle East, especially an intiative to help finance over 260 schools and universities.

The Pope recalled the ongoing effects of conflict and the scourge of war in land of the Prince of Peace’s birth.

“We cannot remain indifferent in the face of their pain, which offends human dignity and cries out to God for justice,” he said.

Pope Leo also called for nuclear weapons to be banned and for justice and right reason to prevail, since peace “is not a balance of power” but is rather built each day through dialogue and justice.

In conclusion, Pope Leo XIV urged the French Republic to “remain a tireless champion of peace and multilateralism”.

“May France, faithful to its traditional values, work for a peace that is unarmed and disarming, and responsibly offer its unique contribution to that goal,” he said. “May your liberty grow in constant concern for the common good.”