Pope Leo XIV gives his Easter blessing "urbi et orbi" (to the city and the world) from the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican April 5, 2026. (CNS/Lola Gomez)
by John Dear
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On this week's episode of "The Nonviolent Jesus Podcast," I reflect with organizer, activist, author and professor Ken Butigan, who has been tracking every speech on peace and nonviolence under Pope Francis and now Pope Leo XIV. Butigan gathers the messages here. If you look up Leo's speeches since May 2025, you will be amazed at the hundreds of times he has called for peace, a message ignored by the mainstream U.S. media.
Butigan is professor of practice in the Peace, Justice, and Conflict Studies Program at DePaul University, a strategy consultant with Pace e Bene Nonviolence Service and serves on the executive committee of Pax Christi International's Catholic Nonviolence Initiative.
I was stunned by the material that Butigan put together, so I invited him to the podcast to talk about it.
"Pope Leo has been calling us over and over and over again to be unarmed and disarming," Butigan said. "He calls us to create 'a civilization of love by building houses of peace.' He wants the church to take nonviolence seriously and put it into practice."
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