Collected photo

VATICAN CITY, Aug 31, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Pope Leo XIV called Sunday for an end 
to the "pandemic of arms" as he prayed for "countless" children killed by 
firearms and in conflicts globally.

The US pontiff repeated his calls at the end of the Angelus prayer for a 
ceasefire in Ukraine following a Russian attack on Kyiv on Thursday in which 
at least 25 people died, including four children.

He also noted the recent shooting during a school mass in Minnesota in the 
United States, in which two children were killed.

"We include in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every 
day around the world. Let us plead God to stop the pandemic of arms, large 
and small, which infects our world," he said in English.

On Ukraine, the pope said he urged the world "not to give in to indifference" 
and renewed his "insistent call for an immediate ceasefire and for a serious 
commitment to dialogue".

"It is time for those responsible to renounce the logic of arms and embark on 
the path of negotiation and peace, with the support of the international 
community," he said.