Rome, Sept. 29 -- Pope Leo XIV called on Russia and Ukraine to sit down and engage in dialogue to resolve their differences, saying the Church would continue to urge world leaders to seek alternatives to war and warning against increasing military spending, Vatican News reported.

Speaking to journalists on the flight from Metz to Rome on Monday evening (local time) at the end of his 'Apostolic Journey' to France, Pope Leo XIV said the Church's social teaching opposed violence, hatred, weapons and the dangers posed by increasingly destructive wars.

The Pope criticised continued spending on the military industry, saying a small number of people were becoming immensely wealthy from an industry that promotes war.

"A small number of people ...