Pope Leo promises to stop being a “silent bystander” to violations of human rights around the world

Pope Leo has promised that rather than being a “silent bystander,” the Vatican will aggressively combat violations of human rights around the world.

On Saturday, Pope Leo XIV assured incoming Holy See ambassadors that the Vatican would not remain a “silent bystander” to violations of human rights across the globe.

The remarks are among the most lucid yet in exposing the mindset of the US pope, who was chosen to lead the Catholic world in May when Pope Francis passed away.

“I want to reiterate that the Holy See will not remain silent in the face of serious inequalities, injustices, and basic human rights abuses in our increasingly divided and conflict-prone international community,” he said to the gathering of 13 ambassadors.

The pope, who has spiritual power over 1.4 billion Catholics, leads the Holy See, which is the entity that governs the Church.

The pope stated that the Holy See’s diplomacy was “consistently directed toward serving the good of humanity, especially by appealing to consciences and by remaining attentive to the voices of those who are poor, in vulnerable situations, or pushed to the margins of society.”

By concentrating on inequality, Leo is advancing the goals of Francis, his predecessor, who during his papacy fought for the rights of immigrants and other marginalized groups.

Leo, who served as a missionary in Peru for almost 20 years, criticized President Donald Trump’s treatment of immigrants in the US last month, calling it “extremely disrespectful.”

The new ambassadors from Uzbekistan, Moldova, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Liberia, Thailand, Lesotho, South Africa, Fiji, Micronesia, Latvia, and Finland were accredited on Saturday and greeted by a crowd inside the Vatican.