After Minnesota shooting, Papa Leon calls for an end to the gun 'pandemic'

Pope Leo XIV called this Sunday for an end to the "gun pandemic" that kills "countless" children every day in crimes and conflicts worldwide.

The American pontiff reiterated his calls at the end of the Angelus prayer for a ceasefire in Ukraine following the Russian attack on Kiev last Thursday, which killed at least 25 people, including four children.

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He also recalled last Wednesday's shooting at a school mass in Minnesota, USA, in which two children were killed.

"We include in our prayers the countless children killed and injured every day around the world. Let us pray that God will stop the pandemic of weapons, large and small, that infects our world," Pope Leo said in English.

Regarding Ukraine, the Pope asked the world "not to succumb to indifference" and renewed his "insistent call for an immediate ceasefire and a serious commitment to dialogue."

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