Pope Leo XIV has called for a global ban on aerial military strikes, arguing that such attacks are inherently indiscriminate and should no longer be part of modern warfare.
Speaking at the Vatican City, the pope said no one should live in fear of destruction "from the sky," adding that aerial bombings should have been outlawed after the devastating conflicts of the 20th century.
"Yet they still exist... this is not progress; it is regression," he said, in remarks widely interpreted as a response to the ongoing conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
The pope, the first American to lead the Catholic Church, has repeatedly called for a ceasefire, recently describing the war as a "scandal to the whole human family."