Pope Francis has sparked anger after saying Ukraine should have the "courage of the white flag" and negotiate to end the war with Russia. In an interview with Swiss broadcaster Radio Télévision Suisse (RTS) published on Saturday, Francis was asked ...

Pope Leo XIV arrived on his first foreign trip to Turkey and later Lebanon, a visit that fulfills the late Pope Francis’ plans to mark an important Christian anniversary and bring a message of peace to the region at a crucial time for efforts to end the war in Ukraine and ease Mideast tensions.

Pope Leo XIV met Friday with a delegation including Ukrainian officials, victims of Russia’s war and a U.S. senator as the Kyiv government sought to tap the new pontiff’s calls for peace to coax the Vatican into a larger role in efforts to release prisoners,

Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined a delegation of Ukrainians forcibly taken to Russia during the war with Ukraine who met with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Friday.

On the first of his four days in Turkey, Leo met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Later in the trip, he is set to visit local Catholic clergy and leaders of other Christian groups, including Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople, head of the Eastern Orthodox church.