Pope Leo XIV encourages Turkey to be a force for stability and peace as he opens first foreign trip

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Pope Leo XIV encouraged Turkey to be a source of stability and dialogue in a world riven by conflict, as he opened his first foreign trip as pope on Thursday with a plea for peace amid efforts to end wars in Ukraine and Gaza.The American pope emphasized a message of peace as he arrived in Ankara, welcomed on the tarmac by a military guard of honor and at the presidential palace by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.Speaking to Erdogan and the country’s diplomatic co