In his first Easter message, Pope Leo warns world is 'becoming indifferent' to violence

Pope Leo warned Sunday that the world was becoming "accustomed to violence" in his Easter message from the balcony of St.

Pope Leo warned Sunday that the world was becoming "accustomed to violence" in his Easter message from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, deliver a rallying cry against war and hatred to the tens of thousands as conflict rages in the Middle East.

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In his first Urbi et Orbi ("to the city and the world") message, the traditional apostolic blessing and message to the world, the American-born pope called upon humanity to "abandon every desire for conflict, domination and power" and said the world risked becoming “indifferent to the deaths of thousands of people” and the “hatred and division that conflicts sow.”

"Let those who have weapons lay them down," he said. "Let those who have the power to unleash wars choose peace! Not a peace imposed by force, but through dialogue!"