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Pope Leo XIV on Tuesday appealed for dialogue between the United States and Venezuela amid mounting fears of American military action.
The US-born pope said there were mixed signals coming from the United States in the dispute, noting a phone call between President Donald Trump and Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, and speculation of sending US troops.
“Again, I believe it’s better to seek dialogue, perhaps pressure, even economic pressure, but look for another way to bring about change, if that’s what the United States decides to do,” Leo told reporters on the flight home from a trip to Lebanon.
He said that through diplomacy, the Vatican was “looking for ways to calm the situation” for the good of the Venezuelan people.
Pope Leo XIV visited Istanbul’s famed Blue Mosque early on Saturday on the third day of his trip to Turkey.
It was the first time the American pope, elected in May as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, visited a Muslim place of worship since taking over from his late predecessor Francis.
The Blue Mosque is one of Istanbul’s main tourist attractions, with six minarets and a roof of cascading domes, its interior lined with vibrant blue Iznik tiles.
With such a highly symbolic gesture, Leo follows in the footsteps of Pope Benedict XVI, who visited the site in 2006, and Francis who did the same in 2014.
Like all visitors, the pope removed his shoes to enter the mosque, walking onto the burnt orange carpet in white socks — not a mandatory part of the papal uniform but in this case a likely nod to Leo’s favourite baseball team, the Chicago White Sox.
