VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis on Sunday renewed a call for “wisdom and prudence” over US President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, which has sparked protests and clashes.

“The pope renews his appeal for the wisdom and prudence of everyone, and raises fervent prayers so that the leaders of nations, in this time of special gravity, commit themselves to avert a new spiral of violence,” a statement from the Vatican said.

Trump’s declaration drew global condemnation and sparked days of unrest in the Palestinian territories.

Noting that Jerusalem was sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims, the pope reiterated the church’s “well-known position concerning the singular character of the Holy City and the essential need for respecting the status quo”.

“At the same time the pope reiterates its own conviction that only a negotiated solution between Israelis and Palestinians can bring a stable and lasting peace, and guarantee the peaceful co-existence of two states within internationally recognized borders,” the statement added.

Pope Francis also called on world leaders to work in favor of nuclear disarmament to protect human rights, particularly those of weaker and underprivileged people.

The pontiff said that there was a need to “work with determination to build a world without nuclear weapons”, speaking from the window of the papal apartment overlooking St. Peter’s Square and citing his 2015 encyclical letter Laudato Si (Praised Be).

His remarks came on the day that the group which won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize urged nuclear nations to adopt a UN treaty banning atomic weapons.

With rising tensions between the United States and North Korea, the pope has repeatedly warned against the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental effects of nuclear devices and has called for a third country to mediate the dispute.

At his weekly Angelus prayer, Pope Francis added that men and women in the world had “the liberty, the intelligence and the capacity to guide technology, limit their power, at the service of peace and true progress”.

Speaking aboard the plane back from his trip to Myanmar and Bangladesh, the Pope suggested that some world leaders had an “irrational” attitude toward nuclear weapons.

Last month he appeared to harden the Catholic Church’s teaching against nuclear weapons, saying countries should not stockpile them, even for the purpose of deterrence.

Pope Francis, a strong defender of environmental protection, also hoped that an upcoming Paris summit would adopt “efficient decisions” to contrast climate change. — Agencies