ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM LEBANON (CNS) -- At the end of his first foreign trip as pope, a trip focused on dialogue, Pope Leo XIV said the examples of friendship and respect he had seen could be a helpful example for people in North America and Europe, too.

For example, the stories of Christians and Muslims helping each other in Lebanon when their villages were destroyed, he said, offer the lesson that "we should perhaps be a little less fearful and look for ways of promoting authentic dialogue and respect," the pope told reporters Dec. 2 during his flight back to Rome from Lebanon.

Often, fear of Muslims in the West is "generated by people who are against immigration and are trying to keep out people who may be from another country, another religion, another race," he said. "In that sense, I would say that we all need to work together."

Pope Leo set off from Rome to Turkey Nov. 27 and headed to Lebanon Nov. 30. On the way home, he spent more than 25 minutes responding to reporters' questions.

Topics ranged from his election to future trips and from Venezuela to Ukraine. 

After his repeated appeals throughout the trip for an end to violence in the Middle East, violence that includes attacks on Israel by Hezbollah militants and attacks on Lebanon by Israel targeting the militants, the U.S.-born Pope Leo was asked if he would "use his connections" with U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to promote peace in the region.

"I believe sustainable peace is achievable," the pope said. "In fact, I've already, in a very small way, begun a few conversations with some leaders of places you mentioned," he told the reporter.

The Vatican's diplomatic efforts, though, take place mostly "behind the scenes," he said. The important thing is that those involved in armed conflict silence their weapons and sit at the same table to negotiate peace. 

On the question of Ukraine and U.S. President Donald Trump's proposed peace plan, which was drafted without the input of European members of NATO, Pope Leo said he was happy to see that revisions to the plan already were being made to include Europe's concerns.

Asked about the ongoing tensions between Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Pope Leo said the Vatican is in contact with "the bishops and the nuncio" in trying to find ways "to calm the situation," especially because the people suffering most are the simple citizens of Venezuela.

However, Pope Leo also noted that "the voices coming from the United States keep changing," alternating between ultimatums to Maduro and the occasional softening of the rhetoric.

"I don't know more," the pope said, but it is always better to seek the path of dialogue.

Responding to another question about dialogue and friendship, Pope Leo said his episcopal motto, "In Illo Uno Unum," literally "In the One, we are one," is an obvious reference to the unity found with faith in Christ. 

But it also is "an invitation to all of us and to others to say, 'The more we can promote authentic unity and understanding, respect and human relationships -- so friendship and dialogue in the world -- the greater possibility there is that we will put aside the arms of war," the pope said.

When people learn to "leave aside the distrust, the hatred, the animosity that has so often been built up," he said, "we will find ways to come together and be able to promote authentic peace and justice."

As far as the conclave that elected him May 8, the pope said he holds "very strictly" to the secrecy of the election process.

The day before the conclave began, he said, a reporter stopped him on the street and asked what he thought about people saying he was a candidate.

"I simply said, 'Everything is in the hands of God,' and I believe that profoundly," the pope said.

Pope Leo said people who want to understand him should read the book "The Practice of the Presence of God" by an author known only as Brother Lawrence; it has influenced his spirituality for years, he said. The premise is "one simply gives his life to the Lord and allows the Lord to lead."

"In the midst of great challenges, living in Peru during years of terrorism, being called to serve in places where I never thought I'd be called to serve, I trust in God," he said.

"When I saw how things were going" in the conclave, he said, "I took a deep breath. I said, 'Here we go, Lord. You are in charge, and you lead the way.'" 

As for the crowds that gather in Rome and turned out on the trip, Pope Leo said he knows they are coming to see him, "but I say to myself, 'They are here because they want to see Jesus Christ, and they want to see a messenger of peace.'"

The enthusiasm, especially of young people, "is awe-inspiring," he said, "and I just hope I never tire of appreciating" that.

As for future papal trips, he said, there is nothing "certain" yet, but he hopes his next trip will be to Africa, including Algeria where St. Augustine served as bishop and where he still "is very respected as a son of the nation."

"Just to confirm," he said: "Africa. Africa. Africa."

Rumors had been flying that he would head to Peru, where he had served as a missionary and bishop for 20 years, and to Argentina and Uruguay, countries that had been promised a visit by Pope Francis.

"But the plan still has not been finalized," he said.
 

In an unsigned statement for a meeting of the UN Trade and Development organization (UNCTAD), the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations and Other International Organizations in Geneva expressed concern about aid cuts to the world’s 44 least developed countries (LDCs), where 1.3 billion people live.

“Official development assistance (ODA) has decreased by $6 billion in just five years,” the Holy See Mission stated. “It is concerning that estimates suggest a further 20 percent decline in ODA.”

“Setting the LDCs on a sustained path towards development will require continued support from the international community based on the LDCs’ actual needs and requests, as well as strengthened domestic efforts to mobilize revenues and improve public financial management,” the statement added.

The Section for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Secretariat of State organized a one-day Jubilee for Christians in International Forums, during which participants were reminded of their responsibility for the common good and peace.

Participants in the November 28 event took part in a conference whose speakers included Linda Ghisoni, ndersecretary of the Dicastery for the Laity, Family, and Life. The day culminated in a jubilee Mass at the Lateran Basilica, celebrated by Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the dicastery’s prefect.

In an informal question-and-answer session with reporters who accompanied him on his return flight to Rome from Beirut on December 2, Pope Leo XIV:

• Told about his reaction when, during the papal conclave, he realized that he would be elected: “I took a deep breath. I said, ‘Here we go, Lord. You’re in charge and you lead the way.”
• Hinted that the Vatican is engaged in secret talks with Hezbollah, hoping to promote peace in Lebanon. “Our work is not something we announce publicly,” he said.
• Discouraged US military intervention in Venezuela. “I believe it’s better to look for ways of dialogue, perhaps pressure—including economic pressure,” he recommended.
• Disclosed that he hopes to visit Africa in 2026, with a particular interest in traveling to Algeria, where St. Augustine served as Bishop of Hippo. He also expressed interest in traveling to South America, possibly visiting Peru, where he had served as bishop, and Argentina. (Oddly, Pope Francis, a native of Argentina, never visited that country as Pontiff.)
• Urged the people of Europe and North America to be “a little less fearful” of Muslim immigration.

The Catholic residents of Munabam, a fishing village in southwestern India, called off a 414-day relay hunger strike after a court temporarily recognized their property rights.

Despite the villagers’ deeds, a state board had declared their property to be Muslim religious land, and the state had stopped accepting property tax from Catholic and Hindu residents. The Hindu residents are continuing their protest until their full property rights are restored.

“Departing is often more difficult than arriving,” Pope Leo XIV said as he prepared to leave Lebanon on December 2, concluding the first international trip of his pontificate.

On his final day in Lebanon the Pope visited a hospital, prayed silently at the site of the devastating explosion at the port of Beirut, and celebrated Mass at the city’s waterfront for a congregation estimated at 150,000.

“The beauty of your country is also overshadowed by the many problems that afflict you,” the Pope told his Lebanese congregation. Among those problems he listed “the fragile and often unstable political context, the dramatic economic crisis that weighs heavily upon you and the violence and conflicts that have reawakened ancient fears.” He encouraged them to respond with “a transformation of the heart, a conversion of life and a realization that God has made us precisely to live in the light of faith, the promise of hope, and the joy of charity.”

Pope Leo said that he had traveled to Lebanon as “a pilgrim of hope, imploring God for the gift of peace.” He urged the nation’s people to work and pray for peace, saying that “the Middle East needs new approaches, in order to reject the mindset of revenge and violence.”

Later in the afternoon the Pontiff traveled to the Beirut airport, where Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun joined him for a farewell ceremony before the return flight to Rome.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published the Catholic Campaign for Human Development’s grant awards for 2026.

The bishops’ Subcommittee for the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, together with local bishops, approved 89 grants, totaling $3,498,000, for 2026. The 87 grants for 2025 totaled $2,165,000.

In a statement for the December 28 general election, the bishops of the Central African Republic said that “it is our sacred duty not to leave future generations a burden of endless crises, unrest, and chaos, but a true paradise of peace and prosperity.”

The bishops described the nation as a “work in progress” because of “challenges in the areas of health, education, security, promoting civic engagement, respecting human dignity and a culture of human rights, as well as combating exclusive ethnocentrism, nepotism, corruption, mismanagement, and the misappropriation of public funds.”

The nation of 5.7 million (map) is 76% Christian (44% Catholic), 14% Muslim, and 10% ethnic religionist. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2015.

Gunmen attacked a Protestant church in a Nigerian village on November 30 and kidnapped 12 people, including the pastor and his wife.

The Cherubim and Seraphim Church is located in Ejiba, a village in Nigeria’s Kogi State.

Accompanied by civil officials, the custos (Franciscan provincial) of the Holy Land made his traditional solemn procession into Bethlehem for the beginning of Advent.

“The return of the solemn entrance is not only the recovery of a tradition but the announcement of a possible new beginning,” the Custody of the Holy Land said in a statement. At a time when the wounds of war are still open, the celebration becomes a declaration of resilience, a choice of light against the temptation of discouragement.”

In the 14th century, the Holy See entrusted the care of the holy sites in the Holy Land, including the sites in Bethlehem, to the care of the Franciscan order.