Pope Leo XIV used his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square on 18 June to renew his appeal for peace and disarmament, warning that the deployment of increasingly powerful and technologically advanced weapons risks dragging humanity into “barbarism.” The pontiff said the Church’s “heart is broken” by the suffering in conflict zones, specifically citing Ukraine, Iran, Israel and Gaza, and urged the international community not to “get used to war.” He called on governments to reject the temptation to rely on sophisticated armaments and to pursue negotiated solutions instead.