Pope Leo XIV thanked directors and staff of the ITA Airways, the Italian national airline, for the carrier’s service to the popes on their international apostolic journeys.
“My predecessors and the collaborators who accompanied them on their international journeys found in the personnel of Alitalia and ITA not only qualified and experienced professionals, but also people capable of creating a serene, I would say almost family-like, atmosphere, where respect goes hand in hand with devotion,” Pope Leo said on March 23. “Meeting you gives me the chance to express my personal appreciation and gratitude, and that of the Holy See, for this precious service.”
The Pope added:
Aircraft should always be vehicles of peace, never of war! No one should fear that threats of death and destruction will come from the sky.
After the tragic experiences of the twentieth century, aerial bombardment should have been banished forever! Instead, as we know, it still exists, and technological development, which is positive in itself, is being put at the service of war. This is not progress, it is regression!