"The Holy See is always ready to help bring enemies together, face-to-face, to talk to one another, so that people everywhere may once more find hope and recover the dignity they deserve, the dignity of peace," Pope Leo said in a speech to members of the Eastern Catholic Churches.

"War is never inevitable. Weapons can and must be silenced, for they do not resolve problems but only increase them. Those who make history are the peacemakers, not those who sow seeds of suffering," he added.