Pope Leo visits Turkey and warns humanity at stake from high level of conflict

The Pope makes his first foreign trip to Turkey and says a third world war is being "fought piecemeal".

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"The future of humanity is at stake, said the Pope, urging President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to act as a source of stability because of the need to promote dialogue and stability.

The Pope will mark a historic Christian anniversary during his visit to Turkey, before heading to Lebanon days after Israeli airstrikes on its capital, Beirut.

The visits had been planned by late Pope Francis, but their main theme of building bridges was embraced by Pope Leo from the moment he stepped on the balcony of St Peter's Basilica after his election in May.

Leo warned that today's wars were like a "third world war fought piecemeal", repeating a phrase that his predecessor had himself used several times, referring to conflicts in Ukraine, Syria, Myanmar and elsewhere.