Action des citoyens pour le désarmement nucléaire (ACDN) salutes the election of Pope Leo XIV and rejoices that he began his first speech by calling for a "peace without weapons, a peace disarming" in a world which greatly needs this.

The origins, the personality and the rich experience of Robert Francis Prevost allow us to think that he will be able to use the Catholic Church, "a Church that progresses and seeks for peace and charity", in the service of peace between peoples and solidarity between human groups. He has multicultural roots, multilingualism, two nationalities, a concern for migrants, a concern for the poor and social justice, a concern for the planet - all of which Pope Francis also had.

We must hope that Leo XIV will be heard by the warmongering leaders who threaten the world, but also by the national Churches, in particular that of France where we have waited for decades for the bishops to speak about the first of those preoccupations: peace and disarmament, notably nuclear disarmament.