By Vatican News

“We must encourage everyone to leave weapons behind, and to leave behind the money-making that is behind every war.’

Those were the Pope’s words to journalists as he left his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo this evening, after spending 16 days there, and returned to the Vatican. Pope Leo, who returned shortly before 9pm, spoke with reporters who were awaiting his departure and answered their questions.

Regarding the possibility of travelling to warzones such as Gaza, Leo explained that “there are many places” where he personally would “like to go, but this is not necessarily the formula for finding an answer”.

“Many times, with the arms trade, people become just tools without any value,” he stressed, adding that we must “constantly insist on the dignity of every human being, Christian, Muslim, people of every religion. We are all God’s children, created in God’s image,” he continued. “So we will continue this effort”.

On the subject of his stay in Castel Gandolfo, the Pope said that it went very well. “I was able to have a change of scene”, he said, but it was “a working holiday, and I never stopped following” current events, he concluded. “Thank God the voice of the Church is still important,” Pope Leo said. “Let us continue to promote peace”.