Vatican City — Pope Leo XIV on Monday appealed to the international community to confront Haiti’s worsening humanitarian emergency, warning that the Caribbean nation’s situation is “ever more desperate.” He urged the immediate release of hostages seized by armed gangs and called for “concrete support” to help Haitians “live in peace.” Addressing pilgrims after the Angelus prayer, the first American-born pontiff cited reports of killings, human trafficking and rampant kidnappings. Church officials in Port-au-Prince have condemned the recent abduction of eight people — among them a child and an Irish missionary — during an attack on the Sainte-Hélène orphanage in the hills above the capital. The latest intervention came a day after the Pope renewed his wider plea for an end to armed conflicts, telling world leaders not to ignore what he described as the “universal desire for peace” and inviting the faithful to pray for an end to all wars.