Pope Leo makes his voice heard on first foreign trip

Pope Leo XIV has arrived in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, a week after Israeli air strikes on the Lebanese capital.

For a man known for his caution and prudence, it seemed a very appropriate statement that this was his first trip abroad, to a country so badly affected by conflict.

The pope has been in Turkey for three days, and by observing his diplomacy up close, we’re learning more about how he plans to fulfill his duties as spiritual leader and head of state in Vatican City.

Pope Leo’s interactions with reporters were gentle and soft-spoken, and his words always seemed thoughtful and considered.

His predecessor, Pope Francis, often gave long, sometimes passionate and heartfelt speeches to reporters.

But sometimes that means his aides have the job of risk management, having to explain comments that appear to contradict what the pope has said before or are diplomatic faux pas.

Pope Francis wrote in his autobiography that when he became pope in 2013, he felt that his term would only last two or three years. He certainly acted like a man on a mission, quickly trying to put his vision for the church into practice.

Six months into his pontificate, Pope Leo still looks like a man who is taking on the weight of the role and weighing his options. Sometimes he seems a little emotional about his situation.

At the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Istanbul, the pope even appeared to be holding back tears for a moment as he stood at the altar before a congregation made up of members of the Christian minority who welcomed him so warmly and joined him in worship.

In a way, it was reminiscent of the moment in May when he stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, having just agreed to take on the monumental task of leading more than a billion people in something as personal and sensitive as faith.

As the statesman who leads the Vatican, he often appears to be on the receiving end of a listening ear, but on this visit, Pope Leo showed that he can still make some strong statements.

Standing next to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he condemned the powerful country for flexing its economic and military might, accusing it of exacerbating conflicts around the world and saying “the future of humanity is at stake.”

“We must strongly oppose the use of religion to justify war, violence or any form of fundamentalism or fanaticism,” he said at an event today in the Turkish city of Iznik to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the founding of the Christian Council.

Speaking on the plane from Istanbul to Beirut, referring to the decades-old conflict between Israel and Palestine, he said the only solution must include the establishment of a Palestinian state.

“We all know that at the moment Israel still does not accept this solution,” he said, but quickly added that the Vatican remained “a friend of Israel” and was seeking to act as a mediating voice.

One of Pope Leo’s first acts in Lebanon, a country with serious governance problems, was to sit down with the country’s leading politicians and remind them of their commitment to serving the people.

The pope himself described the purpose of his visit to Türkiye and Lebanon as a “messenger of peace.” There is no doubt that people are looking forward to Lebanon in particular.

“It means a lot to me,” Patriarch Bechara al-Rashi, leader of the Maronite Catholic Church, to which most Lebanese Christians belong, told the BBC: “It means a lot to me. He could have visited other countries, but his priority was Lebanon, which is still at war.”

“When the Lebanese felt abandoned, he brought hope and we felt uplifted,” he said.

The pope’s visit brought a boost to a third of the country’s Christian population, but all Lebanese were given a two-day national holiday where people from all major faiths welcomed him.

Even the Shiite Muslim party Hezbollah and militia groups, which are regarded as terrorist organizations by the United Kingdom and the United States, have also conveyed their greetings.

In an open letter, the organization expressed its “warm welcome” and “deep appreciation” for the pope’s “visit.” As his motorcade pulled out of Beirut airport, among the Lebanese and Vatican flags flying, there were also those of Hezbollah.

While in Lebanon, Pope Leo will meet with Bishop Bechara al-Rahi and other local Christian, Muslim and Druze leaders.

He really positioned himself as a bridge builder. He becomes pope at a time when divisions between progressive and traditional Catholics appear to be growing, between peoples, faiths, Christian denominations and even closer to home.

Of course, there are limits to the ambition of unity.

In Türkiye, the Russian Orthodox Church did not send a representative as the pope looked to bring different Christian traditions together to celebrate their moment of unity.

There will always be criticism. Some were disappointed that the pope did not use his visit to Turkey to send a message to Erdogan about cracking down on opposition or jailing journalists.

Some in Lebanon are angry that Pope Leo has not visited those most directly affected by the war.

“No one even asked us about our situation,” said Geyes Jabr from the Christian village of Sarda near the Israeli border.

“We are exhausted and have set back decades, but the pope doesn’t even care about us,” he said, echoing the sentiments of some others in southern Lebanon.

Leo may have suddenly (and probably unexpectedly for him) been given one of the most powerful moral platforms on that day in May, but on a human level, he was still a guy from Chicago’s South Side who was growing into a character where one wrong step could have huge consequences.

Unlike Pope Francis, he doesn’t seem like someone who wants to change things quickly, but Pope Leo showed on his first trip abroad that he is making his voice heard on the world stage.