Pope Leo urges against US incursion of Venezuela as he warns Western countries to be ‘less fearful’ of immigrants

By Christopher Lamb, CNN

(CNN) — Pope Leo has said he believes the United States needs to find “another way” in handling the situation in Venezuela, warning against any military incursion and saying it would be better to pursue dialogue or apply economic pressure.

“It seems there is the possibility that there be some activity, even an operation to invade Venezuelan territory,” Leo, who spent several years as a missionary and bishop in Peru, told reporters on board the papal plane returning to Rome from Beirut on Tuesday. “I truly believe that it is better to look for ways of dialogue, maybe pressure, including economic pressure, but looking another way to change, if that is what they want to do in the United States.”

The first American pope’s comments come at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and Venezuela, with Leo saying church leaders in the South American country were looking for “ways to calm the situation.”

He noted that US President Donald Trump and his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolás Maduro had spoken on the phone and that because “the voices that come from the US change, with some frequency sometimes, one needs to see.”

During an in-flight press conference covering a range of topics, Leo also called for Europe and North America to be “a little less fearful” when it comes to immigrants of different faiths. Asked about Catholics who see Islam as a “threat” to Christianity in Europe, Leo said he is aware of people’s fears, but said they are often “generated by people who are against immigration and trying to keep out people who may be from another country, another religion, another race.”

Instead, Leo said his visit to Turkey and Lebanon underlined that “dialogue and friendship between Muslims and Christians is possible” citing Lebanon as a country which teaches friendship between Christians and Muslims. He said the lessons from Lebanon need to be “heard in Europe or North America, that we should perhaps be a little less fearful and look for ways of promoting authentic dialogue and respect.”

His comments on migration come less than a week after Trump said he was considering permanently banning immigration from what he called “third world countries.”

The pope also stressed the importance of Europe in forging a peace plan for Ukraine, amid talks taking place between US envoys and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday. “It is clear that on one part the president of the United States thinks that a peace plan can be promoted that he would like to do and that at least in a first moment was without Europe, but the presence of Europe is important and that first plan was modified also because of what Europe was saying.”

Leo also spoke for the first time about how he felt at the time of his election as pope earlier this year, revealing that “just a year or two ago” the 70-year-old had thought about retiring.

“What was it like? I resigned myself to the fact when I saw how things were going that it could be a reality,” he said. “I took a deep breath, I said ‘here we go Lord you’re in charge, you lead the way.’”

He also said he hoped to visit Algeria soon to follow in the footsteps of the fourth century Saint Augustine, the founder of his religious order, and to promote a message of dialogue between the Christian and Muslim world.

On May 8, 2025, the cardinals of the Catholic Church elected Cardinal Robert Prevost, the first US-born pope in the church’s 2,000-year history. While he has adopted the same priorities as his predecessor, Leo has a more low-key, formal style, with some wondering how he will address the church’s major challenges.

Leo spent time with reporters on the way out to Turkey last week, talking about Wordle, wishing American journalists on board a happy Thanksgiving, and being handed pumpkin pies. He also took questions from the media on two occasions during the six-day-long trip.

While some have remarked on his inscrutability, Leo cited a book, which he said would help understand him better. The book titled, “The Practice of the Presence of God” was written by “Brother Lawrence” a 17th century Carmelite lay brother, he said it is an account of someone who “simply gives his life to the Lord and allows the Lord to lead.”

He said: “if you want to know something about me, that’s been my spirituality for many years”, adding that it helped him while in Peru “during years of terrorism” and various different assignments.

Leo’s decision to hold a press conference on the way back from Lebanon, continues in the steps of his predecessors including Pope Francis who frequently made notable interventions during his in-flight press conferences.

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