Matteo Bruni

Good evening, Your Holiness. Thank you for these past few days of the journey; thank you for this profound journey. It was certainly a much-anticipated trip — one that brought great joy to many French people through your presence and your words — and I believe that your words also struck a deep chord with the French people. I think it has also brought joy to many Catholics and many Christians, who have felt their faith reaffirmed. Perhaps you could begin by telling us how you experienced this journey.

Leo XIV

I will start by speaking in English, and then if you need a translation, we can help with that. First of all, once again thank you for the work you have done.  I think you were kept pretty busy for the past four days and, in a certain sense, it was a very intense program.

The four days were literally filled with many blessings. Almost miracles, I would say, especially the time at Lourdes, accompanying so many people who are sick and suffering and seeing how the grace of God's presence manifested itself in many different ways and touches people's hearts, transforms their lives, and, to use an expression that I mentioned there, restores dignity to the sick, the elderly, those who in some parts of society are discarded.

So, there were many signs, expressions, symbols throughout the four days. And personally, I felt very blessed myself to have had the privilege to visit France to encourage especially young people who are obviously searching for something.

It was so apparent at the stadium, the evening with 80,000 young people gathered together from around France, with their enthusiasm and joy, and the sense of hope that they offered, but especially I think that they received and will be able to share with others.

So, amongst the many different things that we celebrated and lived during these four days, I would say those are some of the highlights, and not to exclude others, but these were quite significant. I am very happy to have had you along on this trip, and if you have a few questions.

Matteo Bruni

The first question comes from Cyriac Zeller. He works for the French media agency called I.Media.

Cyriac Zeller, I. Media

Good evening, Your Holiness. Yesterday, during a press conference, the victims you met told us that you had acknowledged to them the systemic nature of sexual abuse in the Church. Is that indeed the case? Could you explain your position on this? Do you consider sexual abuse in the Church to be systemic?

Leo XIV

I would say — without wanting to contradict anyone — and I think it is very important, I would first of all like to say that in the meeting with those seven victims, I had asked them to also help me to express to other victims the willingness of myself and of the Church to listen and to walk with them as they look for healing, recognizing the pain that has been caused in their lives because of situations of abuse. Several of them spoke about systemic abuse. Personally, I prefer to express it in a different way, although I did speak about some organizations within the Church who have, at times, if you will, as a system, been abusive.

But I think it is important to make the distinction. Sexual abuse is first and foremost a human problem. When it happens within the Church, it actually has another whole dimension added to it because people's lives of faith are deeply wounded and sometimes even destroyed.

So there is a particular responsibility of the Church to walk with them and to help them seek healing. In those terms, I spoke with them about how the Church, in certain ways, has been seen as being responsible, but in the same way that the Church, I think, is an important part of helping them to find healing.

Matteo Bruni

Thank you, Cyriac. The second question, Your Holiness, is from Xavier Normand, who works for the French magazine “Le Pèlerin”.

Xavier Normand, Le Pèlerin

Most Holy Father, good evening. First of all, I wanted to thank you for your Apostolic Visit to France. For four days, our country was swept up in the wave of enthusiasm sparked by your visit. That is quite a feat in France. Thank you, Most Holy Father.

I will continue with my question in English. The motto of your Apostolic Journey was “That the world may have life.” The topic of end-of-life care came up repeatedly in your speeches. Actually, I think you mentioned it in more than half of your speeches in France. I am thinking in particular of the one in the Élysée Palace and yesterday in Lourdes when you say that what is legal is not necessarily moral, which was a clear reference to the recent legalization of euthanasia in France. In France, we also have this principle of "laicité," which is a separation between religion and politics. Do you think that when it is important, when the stakes are high, this border, this line should be crossed in the name of the primacy of conscience? And if so, did you cross that line?

Leo XIV

Thank you for your question. I would say that the understanding that the Church has of a separation between Church and politics, or Church and State, that I did not cross it. I would invite you to read or re-read Magnifica Humanitas where I speak about the Social Doctrine of the Church: in the first section, in the first couple of chapters. When the Church speaks about defending life, when it speaks about questions of Social Doctrine, we are not entering into politics, we are applying the Gospel to people's lives.

There can be politicians on the left or on the right, and situations where they say “no, religion should only be in the private sphere. [And] let people do what they want on their own, but that as a State we have to be separate.“ The very fact is that when I went to France, I went primarily to preach the Gospel, to preach the Good News, to reaffirm what Jesus Christ himself says when he says “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” so to speak the truth that Jesus offers us.

The defense of life is something that, as you all know, the Church teaches and believes very deeply. And so, on the one hand obviously knowing that in France the law was recently approved, and that in other countries in Europe as well as other parts of the world there is a lot of debate going on about the questions of end-of-life issues. But being in a place especially like Lourdes where people are searching for something much deeper, and understanding that their lives even in the midst of sickness, or disability or pain of different kinds has meaning. The Church, because of Jesus himself, wants to be close to those people and to affirm the values that life itself holds for all of us.

So, I would say that if that is considered politics, then I did it. But it was not to get involved in French politics, it was to teach what the Church really believes.

Matteo Bruni

Thank you, Your Holiness. The next question is from Íñigo Domínguez of EL PAÍS.

Íñigo Domínguez

Good evening, Your Holiness. Thank you for sharing this moment with us. You have spoken many times — including on this trip — about the throwaway culture that surrounds us, about the marginalization of those who are not considered productive, including the elderly and people with disabilities. In Spain right now, we have a case that epitomizes all of this and has caused great outrage across the country; it is the case of Mari Carmen, an 87-year-old woman with a disability who was evicted from the home where she lived in Madrid because she could not pay the rent. Her rent was raised five times all at once. I do not know if you are familiar with this case — Mari Carmen’s case. But in any event, what are your thoughts on the housing crisis that exists throughout Europe and around the world, where real estate speculation is driving residents out of cities and young people cannot afford a home? What are your thoughts on this whole issue?

Leo XIV

I believe this is a good example of how the Church — as a community, or simply as human beings — and even people who do not have faith, must seek more fairer solutions to prevent such cases from occurring. I am not familiar with the specific case to which you are referring, but it seems to me that this would be a situation in which neighbors, the community, the parish, the diocese, or the government would need to step in and ask, “How is it possible for something like this to happen?” What is wrong with a system that allows an elderly woman, who is also disabled or facing some difficulty, to be evicted from her home? The Church speaks a great deal about “discarding the weak” and also about justice.  She invites, promotes and seeks to awaken in everyone the capacity to respond with a deeper sense of humanity, to be truly sensitive to the pain and suffering of others. The housing shortage that exists in many countries cannot be solved by a single parish, a single diocese, or the Church alone. But I believe this presents a major challenge where we may also need to call on political leaders and authorities to find a solution. Since this problem is clearly on the rise, people often only react when an emergency arises; yet, we must look closely at the systemic causes of this problem and determine how to help.

Matteo Bruni

Your Holiness, the next question is from Manuela Tulli of the ANSA news agency.

Manuela Tulli, Ansa

Good evening, Your Holiness. Today, and indeed throughout this entire journey, you have emphasized the need for dialogue. In your address to Europe, you spoke of the illusion of rearmament, yet at the same time you urged people to have the courage to make concessions and sacrifices for the greater good of peace. The conflict in Europe is between Russia and Ukraine; what did you mean when you spoke of these sacrifices? Furthermore, you believe in negotiation, as evidenced by your envoys: first Archbishop Gallagher; and Cardinal Zuppi is there now; but how can one engage in dialogue with a State that is attacking, bombing, and threatening not only Ukraine but also other European countries? Thank you.

Leo XIV

Thank you. The first thing would be to emphasize the principles of the Church’s Social Doctrine, which seeks to avoid promoting violence, hatred and armaments — the dangers that exist in today’s world, including those posed by certain leaders of countries who are once again speaking of nuclear weapons and wars that are becoming increasingly destructive, especially with regard to the issue of human life. They are continuing to arm and spend on that enormous military-industrial complex, which for many decades now—since last year, for the past five years—has continued to promote military spending. A select few are getting incredibly rich off an industry that promotes war. Meanwhile, with these billions of euros or dollars, problems such as world hunger, homelessness, and unemployment could be solved. Everyone is looking for a voice that can offer an alternative path — one that does not involve spending more on weapons, which only fuels growing tension that could lead to the outbreak of another war or conflict. And we see the violence that these powers always seek to impose by force, rather than engaging in dialogue and promoting negotiations to resolve differences, which naturally may exist; on the contrary, we are moving ever closer to a war or several wars, or to conflicts like those we see in the world today. I know of no other ways, and this is not a matter of being political or non-political; rather, we need a voice that seeks to promote the values of human dignity, the importance of life, and the possibility of spending more on health care and education and less on weapons; and I believe it is the Church that has the responsibility to promote these values, continually inviting leaders — such as those from Russia and Ukraine, and from other countries — to come, to sit down, to engage in dialogue, and to seek ways to resolve problems without continuing these wars that no longer make sense. In this regard, the Church continues to raise her voice. We cannot force anyone — sometimes it may seem futile — but we will continue to speak out, we will continue to invite, and we will continue to proclaim the Gospel.

Matteo Bruni

Thank you, Your Holiness. The next question is from Justin McLellan of the National Catholic Reporter.

Justin McLellan, National Catholic Reporter

Thank you. Holy Father, I will ask my question in English. In Paris, you spoke on the urgent need for ethical discernment around the development of artificial intelligence and in the wake of multiple cyber-attacks committed by rogue AI agents, several tech industry leaders have warned that the technology could destroy the world. How worried are you that AI could pose catastrophic risks to humanity or even wipe it out entirely, and what must nations, especially the United States and China, do to ensure that their technologies are safe for humanity?

Leo XIV

Thank you. If someone were to ask me, am I in panic mode? No, I am not. I sleep at night. I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI, should be taken seriously.

I do not think that is fake news, as some have said, to try and cause financial or some other kind of benefit. It is interesting to note that just today I read that the head of Nvidia claims that he has found some way of inserting into AI certain guardrails, if you will, or limits so that they will not go outside of their particular domains and cause the damage that people are talking about. He is the same one, however, that says there should be no limits placed and no government regulation, etc. This is a problem that I think we need to sit down and talk about. We need to continue to invite political leaders, leaders of AI, social organizations, associations to come together and look at what is happening already and what could be down the road.

To simply say, “Oh, it's not going to happen,” and close our eyes to it, is probably not the most responsible way of responding. The Vatican has organized our own commission on artificial intelligence, which began as a way of coordinating what we ourselves are doing in the Holy See and how we are using AI, and understanding the risks and benefits.

But since Magnifica Humanitas was published, we have been contacted by people in many different areas and fields. And so, we are trying to continue to promote dialogue, study, investigation, to find ways to make sure that AI does not get to a point where it could destroy humanity or remove humanity from the conversation.

I am relatively optimistic that this can happen. I think that there are enough people seriously interested in that and willing to look at the deeper questions, once again of power, who gets there first, what happens when AI goes to being what they call General Artificial Intelligence, etc. But we have to keep working, we cannot just sit back and pretend nothing is going to happen.

Matteo Bruni

Thank you, Your Holiness. Perhaps we can ask one last question, Ludwig Ring-Eifel, KNA.

Ludwig Ring-Eifel, KNA

Today we were in Metz very close to the German border, but so far, you have not come to Germany. So, my basic question is when can we expect you on the other side of the border and on the background of two developments which are maybe worrying you as well: the steady decline of Catholic Church in Germany and the astonishing rise of extremist parties in Germany, who threaten to tear up the consensus for Europe, which you spoke about today in Metz.

Leo XIV

Thank you for the question. With all humility, I will say that it has only been about fifteen months that I have been Pope. There are many places I have not yet visited. I do have an invitation. I do hope to go again, I mean I have been there before but not as Pope, but I do hope to visit Germany, as I hope to visit many places. But I do not yet have a schedule.

I am still working on next year, and the only trip definitely planned is World Youth Day in Korea. So, we are getting there. But thank you for your patience and for the question.

You said the Church is dying in Germany, or diminishing in number. People have said that about France in the past and yet we saw what happened over the past four days. I believe that if we find the true missionary spirit and the right way to go about it, there are still many, many people in Germany who want to live and celebrate their Christian and Catholic faith.

And so, I am optimistic about that, although I recognize the problems and the different things that have hit the Church very hard, but it has hit the evangelical or Protestant Church very hard as well, and it has hit society in much the same way. But I do hope to reach out. I do hope to continue to work with leaders in the Church in Germany and find ways to respond to that. It would be interesting to study and analyze if and how there may be a relationship, for example, between the growth of these groups on the far right. But even the far right is being splintered now, as you see the one particular group is becoming even much more extreme with other so-called far-right groups.

At the same time, there has been some expression of a combination of these far-right points of view with a certain kind of religion, which — not only in my view, but the leaders of the Catholic Church and the Protestant churches in Germany have spoken about — is not an authentic expression of Christianity.

And again, we go back to the values of the Gospel, which are not about hatred and division, but they are about understanding and compassion and accompanying. I hope deeply, and hopefully the Church can also be a part of this, and that we can find ways of reaching out to a majority of people of goodwill who will understand how important their commitment is, even in terms of participating in political processes, which will enable them to make clear choices for the common good and not for extremist ideas that perhaps will do much more damage than we are even aware of right now.

So, I think we will all be encouraging people in this sense. Again, our role as a Church, based on the Social Doctrine of the Church, is to talk, teach, and preach about what we believe, which are these life-giving values and not destruction, division, and hatred.

Matteo Bruni

Thank you, Your Holiness. Thank you for your words, for your kindness, and thank you very much for these days we have spent traveling together.

Leo XIV

Thank you all again for your service and I want to take the opportunity to thank so many people who are in the background that do not get the applause that the Pope gets when he goes by, but who are very much a part of putting this trip together: people in the Holy See, people in France, the Bishops in France, and many, many lay people who worked on the different activities organizing them.

So, to say a special word of gratitude to all of them and to you. Thank you very much.