(Adnkronos) – Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani has called on Christians and the world to listen to newly elected pontiff Pope Leo XIV, who in his first address on Thursday from the central balcony of St Peter’s Basilica urged an end to war and “a disarming, humble and persevering peace”.
“The world is littered with wars between Christians, they must stop, we hope they will listen to this Pope,” Tajani said in an interview with Rome-based daily Il Messaggero on Friday.
“Hearing his (Leo XIV’s) first words, it will be a (Catholic) Church for all, engaged with the world and the many wars that afflict it,” Tajani went on.
“These wars are often between Christians. The world is frightened, trust is lacking, and there is a need for a reassuring Church,” Tajani said.
In a second day of voting in the Sistine Chapel on Thursday, 133 fellow cardinals elected Robert Prevost, an Agostinian and long-time missionary from the US city of Chicago as the late Pope Francis’ successor, in what is seen as a surprise choice to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
