Pope Leo's in-flight press conference

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Source: Vatican Media

On his return flight from Malabo, in Equatorial Guinea, back to Rome, Pope Leo took questions from some of the roughly 70 journalists who had accompanied his Apostolic Journey.

Speaking in Italian, Spanish and English, he addressed several issues including war, migration, the blessing of homosexual couples and the death penalty.

The Pope began by explaining: "When I travel, I speak for myself, but today as Pope, Bishop of Rome, it is above all a pastoral Apostolic Journey to meet, accompany, and get to know the People of God." ... "Very often the interest expressed is more political: 'What does the Pope say about this or that issue?" … But Pope Leo said: "the journey should be understood above all as an expression of the desire to proclaim the Gospel, to announce the message of Jesus Christ, which is a way of drawing close to the people in their happiness, in the depth of their faith, but also in their suffering."

"...very often it is necessary to make comments or to look for ways to encourage people themselves to take responsibility for their lives. It is also important to speak with Heads of State, to encourage a change of mindset or greater openness to thinking about the common good, and to consider issues such as the distribution of a country's resources. In the talks we had, we did a bit of everything, but above all we saw and met the people with this enthusiasm.

"I am very happy with the whole journey, but living, accompanying, and walking with the people of Equatorial Guinea was truly a blessing, with the rain… They were happy with the rain the other day, but above all it was a sign of sharing with the universal Church what we celebrate in our faith."

Asked about his view on the war on Iran, Pope Leo stressed the need to promote peace: "What we have seen is that many innocent people have died…. The issue is not whether there is regime change or not; the issue is how to promote the values we believe in without the death of so many innocent people."

"The situation in Iran is clearly very complex. Even the negotiations themselves - one day Iran says yes and the United States says no, and vice versa - and we do not know where things are heading. This chaotic, critical situation for the global economy has been created, but there is also an entire population in Iran of innocent people suffering because of this war. So, on regime change, yes or no: it is not even clear what regime currently exists after the first days of attacks by Israel and the United States on Iran.

"Rather, I would encourage the continuation of dialogue for peace, that all sides make every effort to promote peace, remove the threat of war, and respect international law. It is very important that innocent people are protected, as has not happened in several places."

Pope Leo said: "I carry with me a photo of a Muslim child who, during the visit to Lebanon, was waiting there with a sign saying 'Welcome Pope Leo.' He has been killed in this final phase of the war. There are many human situations, and I think we must be able to think in these terms.

"As a Church-I repeat-as a pastor, I cannot be in favour of war. And I would like to encourage everyone to make efforts to seek answers that come from a culture of peace, not hatred and division."

Asked about the issue of immigration, Pope Leo pointed out that it was a global phenomenon: "So, my answer begins with a question: what is the Global North doing to help the Global South, or those countries where young people today cannot find a future and therefore dream of moving north? Everyone wants to go north, but often the North has no answers on how to offer them opportunities. Many suffer… The issue of human trafficking is also part of migration."

While Pope Leo said he recognised the need for countries to control migration, he asked: "what are we doing in richer countries to change the situation in poorer countries? Why can we not try, both through state aid and through the investments of large wealthy companies and multinationals, to change the situation in countries like those we visited on this visit?"

"Africa is often seen by many as a place to extract minerals, to take its wealth for the benefit of other countries. Perhaps globally we should work more to promote greater justice, equality, and development in these African countries so that people do not need to emigrate to other countries, including Spain, and so on."

"And another point I would like to make is that, in any case, they are human beings, and we must treat human beings humanely, not treat them worse than animals, as often happens. It is a very big challenge: a country can say it cannot receive more than a certain number of people, but when people arrive, they are human beings and deserve the respect that belongs to every human being because of their dignity."

One reporter asked whether his meetings with some very 'authoritarian' leaders might be interpreted as a kind of 'pope-washing'. Pope Leo said the primary purpose of the trip was to visit the people.

"..sometimes we have diplomatic relationships with countries that have authoritarian leaders" he said . "We have the opportunity to speak with them on a diplomatic level, on a formal level. We don't always make great proclamations - criticizing, judging, or condemning. But there's an awful lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to promote justice, to promote humanitarian causes, to look for, at times, situations where there may be political prisoners, and finding a way for them to be freed. Situations of hunger, of sickness, etc.

"So the Holy See, by maintaining, if you will, a neutrality and looking for ways to continue our positive diplomatic relationship with so many different countries, we're actually trying to find a way to apply the Gospel to concrete situations so that the lives of people can be improved. People will interpret the rest of it as they will, but I think it's important for us to look for the best way that we can to try and help the people of any given country."

Asked about whether the news that German Cardinal Reinhardt Marx, had given permission for the blessing of same-sex couples in his diocese, might affect the unity of the global Church, Pope Leo said: "First of all, I think it's very important to understand that the unity or division of the Church should not revolve around sexual matters... We tend to think that when the Church is talking about morality, that the only issue of morality is sexual. And in reality, I believe there are much greater, more important issues, such as justice, equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion, that would all take priority before that particular issue. The Holy See has already spoken to the German bishops."

He said: "The Holy See has made it clear that we do not agree with the formalized blessing of couples, in this case, homosexual couples, as you asked, or couples in irregular situations, beyond what was specifically, if you will, allowed for by Pope Francis in saying all people receive blessings."

"When a priest gives a blessing at the end of Mass, when the Pope gives a blessing at the end of a large celebration like the one we had today, they are blessings for all people. Francis' well-known expression 'Todos, todos, todos' is an expression of the Church's belief that all are welcome; all are invited; all are invited to follow Jesus, and all are invited to look for conversion in their lives.

"To go beyond that today, I think that the topic can cause more disunity than unity, and that we should look for ways to build our unity upon Jesus Christ and what Jesus Christ teaches. So that's how I would respond to that question."

Asked for a comment on the news that Iran has executed yet another one of the members of the opposition, Pope Leo said: "I condemn all actions that are unjust. I condemn the taking of people's lives. I condemn capital punishment. I believe that human life is to be respected and that all people-from conception to natural [death, ed.]-their lives should be respected and protected.

So when a regime, when a country takes decisions which takes away the lives of other people unjustly, then obviously that is something that should be condemned."