Pope Francis called on world leaders to “negotiate” and end all wars in his last major US interview before his death.
“I pray a lot for peace,” the pontiff told CBS’ “60 Minutes” when asked last May about the raging Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Hamas war.
“What I can do is pray,” he continued. “And also, to suggest, ‘Please, stop. Negotiate.’ A bad deal is always better than an ugly defeat, is it not?” he stressed.
“Negotiate. Negotiate. The white flag is for negotiating, not for surrendering, but for negotiating. And wars are resolved through negotiation. Think of the dead.”
Elsewhere in the wide-ranging interview, Pope Francis said he tried to see hope in everything — even major tragedies.
“You see tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things,” he said when interviewer Norah O’Donnell asked what gave him hope.
“You see heroic mothers, heroic men, men who have hopes and dreams, women who look to the future? That gives me a lot of hope. People want to live. People forge ahead.
“And people are fundamentally good. We are all fundamentally good. Sometimes we are a little mischievous, sinners, but the heart is good.”
The pope’s remarks resurfaced in the wake of his death on Monday. He was 88.
Francis had suffered a serious bout of double pneumonia earlier this year that saw him hospitalized for 38 days.
The pontiff made his first prolonged public appearance on Sunday since being discharged from hospital on March 23.
In an Easter Sunday message read aloud by an aide as the pope looked on from the main balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the pontiff had reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Describing the ongoing situation in Gaza as “dramatic and deplorable,” the pope also called Hamas terrorists to release its remaining hostages and condemned what he said was a “worrisome” trend of antisemitism in the world.
“I express my closeness to the sufferings… of all the Israeli people and the Palestinian people,” Francis’ message said.
“I appeal to the warring parties: call a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people that aspires to a future of peace.”