EU bishops say Pope Leo XIV is ‘ready to listen’ to concerns about war, populism

The flag of the European Union. / Credit: U. J. Alexander/Shutterstock Vatican City, May 23, 2025 / 12:25 pm (CNA). The leadership of the European bishops’ conference said Pope Leo XIV did not speak as much as he was “welcoming, available, and ready to listen” to their concerns during a meeting at the Vatican on Friday morning. The Russia-Ukraine war and the need to avoid rearmament in Europe was one of the central topics of the private meeting, according to Bishop Mariano Crociata, president of the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE), who spoke during a press conference after the audience, as was reported by SIR news agency. “The pope interacted with a certain immediacy, showing great concern that rearmament could have repercussions in terms of reducing social commitments for the weaker sections of society and shifting capital to arms,” the Italian bishop said.COMECE Vice President Bishop Antoine Hérouard said their discussions emphasized ”the importance of working for a just peace, finding the right balance between peace and justice,” and the social and economic consequences if European countries give more funding to arms.Other topics raised during what Crociata described as a “cordial and serene” meeting between the EU bishops and Pope Leo were the presence of populist movements in conflict with the values of the European Union and Europe’s demographic decline, which reinforces the continent’s need for migrants. The European bishops said they also raised concerns about the phenomenon of people asking to have their personal information removed from Church baptismal records. They stressed the need for European data protection legislation to respect religious freedom and the right and duty of parents to raise and educate their children.