Pope Francis called the heart of war an “abyss of evil” during a meeting with Catholic politicians and legislators at the Vatican on Saturday.

“Our consciences cannot fail to be moved by the scenes of death and destruction daily before our eyes,” the pope said Aug. 24, about the many violent conflicts taking place around the globe.

“We need to hear the cry of the poor, the ‘widows and orphans’ of which the Bible speaks,” he continued, “in order to see the abyss of evil at the heart of war and to resolve by every means possible to choose peace.”

Francis addressed the topic of war in an audience with members of the International Catholic Legislators Network (ICLN) in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace.

He said it is imperative to renounce war as a suitable way of resolving international conflicts and establishing peace, urging the Catholic legislators and all men and women of good will “to build a world — to cultivate a garden — marked by fraternity, justice, and peace.”

ICLN met the pope as it holds its 15th annual meeting in the Italian cities of Rome and Frascati (on the southeast outskirts of Rome), from Aug. 22-25. The theme of the gathering is “The World at War: Permanent Crises and Conflicts — What Does It Mean for Us?”

The network’s mission is to help Christians in public office exercise “virtuous and effective leadership that is committed to the dignity of every human being.”

St. Thomas More is the patron of the group, whose members must uphold the Social Doctrine of the Catholic Church in political life. The archbishop of Vienna, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, is an honorary patron of the network.

In his remarks, the pontiff quoted from his 2020 encyclical on fraternity, Fratelli Tutti, which says that “War is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.”

He also lamented an increasing lack of distinction between military and civilian targets and the enormous destructive capacity of contemporary weapons.

The ongoing crisis of “a third world war fought piecemeal,” Francis continued, “seriously jeopardizes the patient efforts made by the international community, above all through multilateral diplomacy, to encourage cooperation in addressing the grave injustices and the pressing social, economic and environmental challenges facing our human family.”

He noted a need for patience and perseverance “in pursuing the path of peace, in season and out of season, through negotiation, mediation and arbitration.”

The pope also pointed out that, as Christians, we see that the roots of conflict in a society can be found “in a deeper conflict present in the human heart.”

“Conflicts may sometimes be unavoidable, yet they can only be resolved fruitfully in a spirit of dialogue and sensitivity to others and their reasons, and in shared commitment to justice in the pursuit of the common good,” the pontiff said.

He asked Catholic legislators to be witnesses of hope to a “war-weary world,” especially the next generation.

“May your commitment to the common good, buoyed by trust in Christ’s promises, serve as an example for our young people,” he encouraged. “How important it is for them to see models of hope and idealism that counter the messages of pessimism and cynicism to which they are so often exposed.”

This story was originally published by CNA.