Reflecting on peace, Pope Leo says ‘greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion’
February 02, 2026
Addressing young people involved in a political innovation hackathon associated with the Focolare Movement, Pope Leo XIV reflected on peace as “a gift, a covenant and a promise” and said that “there can be no peace while humanity wages war against itself.”
“Peace, indeed, is above all a gift,” Pope Leo said during the January 31 audience, which took place in Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace. “We receive it from those who came before us, and for this we must be grateful.”
“Peace is also a covenant, which binds us to one another and commits us to safeguard it where it exists and to pursue it where it is absent,” the Pope continued. “Finally, peace is a promise, because it opens before us the hope of a better world, a hope shared by all people of good will.”
The Pope added:
With this in mind, I invite you to reflect on the fact that there can be no peace while humanity wages war against itself—by discarding the weak, excluding the poor, and remaining indifferent to refugees and the oppressed. Only those who care for the least among us are capable of accomplishing what is truly great.
In this context, Mother Teresa of Calcutta—the saint of the “poorest of the poor” and Nobel Peace Prize laureate—remarked that “the greatest destroyer of peace today is abortion” (cf. Address at the National Prayer Breakfast, 3 February 1994). Her words remain prophetic. No policy can genuinely serve the people if it denies the unborn the gift of life, or if it neglects to support those in need, whether in their material circumstances or in their spiritual distress.
The Pontiff praised the young participants for their synodal way of proceeding and said that “ synodality teaches us to attend to the perspectives of others, instead of relying solely on our own. It challenges us to cultivate comprehensive outlooks that respect complexity without becoming confused, and to seek the truth without fear of confrontation.”
Referring to the hackathon’s title, Pope Leo concluded:
The one God has entrusted the earth to us as a common home for all peoples; therefore, the title of your conference, “One Humanity, One Planet,” finds its fullest expression when completed by the words “One God.” Recognizing in him our loving and benevolent Creator, our religious traditions call us to contribute to social progress by always seeking the common good, which rests upon the firm foundations of peace and justice.
With this conviction in my heart, I impart my Apostolic Blessing to all of you young people, to those who accompany you, and to your loved ones. Thank you!
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