'Use of force replacing dialogue': Pope Leo XIV expresses concern; calls for adherence to rule of law

Pope Leo XIV warned on Friday that force-based diplomacy is increasingly replacing dialogue, with his remarks coming against a backdrop of heightened global tensions, days after the United States conducted an operation in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.“A diplomacy that promotes dialogue and seeks consensus among all parties is being replaced by a diplomacy based on force, by either individuals or groups of allies,” the first US-born pope told foreign diplomats at the Vatican, without naming anyone. “War is back in vogue and a zeal for war is spreading,” he said.Leo warned that the post–Second World War principle prohibiting nations from using force to violate the borders of other countries had been “completely undermined.”“Peace is sought through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion. This gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence,” Pope Leo XIV stated.The pontiff highlighted what he described as the “weakness of multilateralism,” calling it “a particular cause for concern at the international level.”“Adhering to international humanitarian law is a commitment that states have made, and such law must always prevail over the ambitions of belligerents. We cannot ignore that the destruction of hospitals, energy infrastructure, homes and places essential to daily life constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law,” he added.On January 3, US special forces extricated Maduro and his wife Flores from Venezuela. The couple were taken to New York City, where they now face charges related to drug trafficking and narco-terrorism.Since then, President Donald Trump has threatened to “annex” Greenland, the Danish autonomous territory he has repeatedly discussed seizing since returning to the White House in January last year.