Pope Leo XIV calls for nuclear disarmament in new book

Pope Leo XIV has called for nuclear disarmament and warned of the dangers posed by the continuing arms race in a new book published on July 21.

The book, Unarmed and Disarming: Peace Is a Gift, brings together the pope’s speeches, homilies and writings on war, diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of disputes, the New York Times reports.

While Leo does not name any specific country, he writes broadly about the risks associated with nuclear weapons and the arms race.

“Above all in the atomic era, the affirmation of the truth must push through: it is not atomic weapons that generate peace, but disarmament,” the pope writes in the book’s preface. “This truth, which seemed clear in past decades when we witnessed a nuclear de-escalation, has been obscured by a race to armament that today frightens and terrifies.”

Leo has repeatedly advocated an end to wars since the beginning of his pontificate last year.

In May, he issued an encyclical on artificial intelligence, calling for greater attention to ethical issues surrounding the use of AI.

A collection of Leo XIV’s early writings is expected to be published in English in September. According to publisher Campbell Wharton, the book carries “an urgent message of love and service to address the challenges of the world today.”

By Sabina Mammadli