Pope urges Europe to help fight lies, deceit in international ties

METZ, Sept 28: Pope Leo warned in France on Monday that relations between nations were becoming "increasingly uncivilised", with people boasting of "lies and deceit", and urged Europe to help "break this cycle".

Speaking in the city of Metz near the border with Germany, where he was wrapping up his four-day visit to France, the first American pontiff also stressed the importance of compromise and patience to end war in Europe.

"Relations between individuals and states are becoming increasingly uncivilised. The value of keeping one's word is dismissed. Instead, people boast of lies and deceit," the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics said in an address, with French President Emmanuel Macron in attendance.

"Europe can help to break this cycle through the respect for others that it has learned to cultivate and preserve," Leo said, on the first official papal visit to the European nation in nearly two decades.

Leo sees Europe as a counterweight to the world's major powers and has in the past called on the European Union to overcome tensions and rediscover unity in pursuit of peace in Ukraine and beyond.

Leo also urged "courage in negotiation" and compromise to put an end to war in Europe, in an apparent reference to Russia's war against Ukraine, now in its fifth year.

"Today, sadly, war has returned, even to Europe -- a new 'senseless slaughter,' claiming countless civilian lives every day," he said.

"We need to commit ourselves to patient dialogue, to show courage in negotiation and to be willing to give up some positions for the greater good of peace," the pontiff added.

Leo stressed the importance of unity on a continent where nationalist movements are gaining strength.

France's anti-immigration far right hopes to win next year's presidential election and succeed Macron, a centrist.

The pontiff said Europe was "entering a new stage", with the arrival of men and women fleeing war and persecution.

"We must grasp the historical significance of what is taking place, namely an unprecedented encounter between peoples and cultures, which calls us to rediscover our roots in new and creative ways, while at the same time listening carefully to others."�"AFP