Pope Leo XIV encourages Turkey to be a force for stability and peace as he opens first foreign trip

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Pope Leo XIV encouraged Turkey to be a source of stability and dialogue in a world riven by conflict, as he opened his first foreign trip as pope on Thursday with a plea for peace amid efforts to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

The American pope emphasized a message of peace as he arrived in Ankara, welcomed on the tarmac by a military guard of honor and at the presidential palace by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Speaking to Erdogan and the country’s diplomatic corps at a library in the palace complex, Leo praised Turkey’s historic role as a bridge between East and West, at the crossroads of religions and cultures.

“May Turkey be a source of stability and rapprochement between peoples, in service of a just and lasting peace,” he said, speaking in front of a giant globe. “Today, more than ever, we need people who will promote dialogue and practice it with firm will and patient resolve.”

Leo’s visit comes as Turkey, a country of more than 85 million people of predominantly Sunni Muslims, has cast itself as a key intermediary in efforts to end the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza.

Ankara has hosted rounds of talks with Russia and with Ukraine and offered to take part in the stabilization force in Gaza to help oversee a fragile ceasefire. Israel, which has had rocky relations with Turkey for years, accuses Ankara of supporting Hamas and has ruled out any role for Turkish troops in a stabilization force.

Leo didn’t cite the conflicts specifically, but he quoted his predecessor, Pope Francis, in lamenting that the wars ravaging the world today amount to a “third world war fought piecemeal,” with resources spent on armaments instead of fighting hunger and poverty and protecting creation.

After two world wars, “we are now experiencing a phase marked by a heightened level of conflict on the global level,” he said. “We must not give into this! The future of humanity is at stake.”

In his address, Erdogan said the Palestinian issue is central to achieving peace in the region and praised what he described as the Vatican’s “steadfast stance” on it.

Erdogan said immediate steps must be taken to strengthen the ceasefire reached in Gaza, protect civilians and ensure the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid.

The speech was closely watched, since the first speech of any pope trip sets the tone for his visit. That’s all the more true for this first trip abroad for the first American pope, who will be delivering all his remarks in Turkey in English in a departure for the Italian-centric Vatican. It was thus significant that Leo also commented on the plight of women in Turkey.

“Women, in particular, through their studies and active participation in professional, cultural and political life, are increasingly placing themselves at the service of your community and its positive influence on the international scene,” Leo said.

“We must greatly value then the important initiatives in this regard, which support the family and the contribution that women make toward the full flowering of social life.”

Women’s rights activists continue to denounce Erdogan’s 2021 withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention, a landmark European treaty signed in Istanbul in 2011 to protect women from violence. Critics say the move weakened safeguards.

According to the advocacy group We Will Stop Femicide, 237 women have been killed in Turkey so far in 2025, most by husbands, partners, or relatives, while another 247 women were found dead under suspicious circumstances.

This week, Erdogan unveiled a new five-point plan to combat violence against women, including promoting a culture of respect, strengthening legal protections, and rehabilitating perpetrators.

After Ankara, Leo heads to Istanbul for the meetings and prayers with Orthodox Christian leaders as well as representatives of Turkey’s majority Muslim community. He then travels to Lebanon on Sunday.

The main impetus for Leo to travel to Turkey is to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, an unprecedented gathering of at least 250 bishops from around the Roman Empire.

It happened at a time when the Eastern and Western churches were still united. They split in the Great Schism of 1054, a divide precipitated largely by disagreements over the primacy of the pope.

The visit will also allow Leo to reinforce the church’s relations with Muslims. Leo is due to visit the Blue Mosque and preside over an interfaith meeting in Istanbul.

Asgın Tunca, a Blue Mosque imam who will be receiving the pope, said the visit would help advance Christian-Muslim ties and dispel popular prejudices about Islam.

“We want to reflect that image by showing the beauty of our religion through our hospitality – that is God’s command,” Tunca said.

Speaking to reporters on board his plane, Leo acknowledged the historic nature of his first foreign trip and said he has been looking forward to it because of what it means for Christians and for promoting peace in the world.

“And to invite all people to come together to search for greater unity, greater harmony, and to look for the ways that all men and women can truly be brothers and sisters in spite of differences, in spite of different religions, in spite of different beliefs.”

Leo also shared some more light-hearted moments with reporters, noting that Thursday was Thanksgiving in the United States.

“To the Americans here, Happy Thanksgiving!” he said to the 80 or so reporters who are travelling aboard the papal plane. “It’s a wonderful day to celebrate.”

At least two journalists presented Leo with pumpkin pies. He was also gifted a baseball bat once owned by legendary White Sox player Nellie Fox, and a pair of White Sox-branded slippers and socks.

The latter gift was a reference to Leo’s quip last week that he only wears white socks, a play on words about his beloved Chicago baseball team.

Though support for Palestinians and for an end to the war in Ukraine is widespread in Turkey, for many, international politics is a secondary concern, as they face an ongoing cost-of-living crisis, owing to market turmoil induced by shake-ups in domestic politics.

That could explain why Leo’s visit has largely escaped the attention of many in the country, at least outside the country’s small Christian community.

Fatma Cicek Geyik, a 57-year-old artist, said the visit would bring some joy but should not be exaggerated. She said Turkey is a land with a powerful history and she didn’t see the need to “elevate” others’ presence.

“He’s welcome, his visit will bring joy. But I don’t see it as something to exaggerate too much,” she said. “They will leave just as they came.”

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Wilks and Yedikardes contributed from Istanbul.