Pope Francis on Sunday urged Muslim leaders worldwide to "clearly" condemn terrorism carried out in the name of Islam, and called for an end to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

Pope Francis on Sunday urged Muslim leaders worldwide to "clearly" condemn terrorism carried out in the name of Islam, and called for an end to the persecution of Christians in the Middle East.

Francis said he had told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "it would be wonderful if all the Muslim leaders of the world -- political, religious and academic, spoke up clearly and condemned" violence which damages Islam.

"That would help the majority of Muslims if that came from the mouths of these political, religious and academic leaders. We all have need of a global condemnation," Francis told reporters aboard the plane taking him back to Rome after a three-day visit to Turkey.

The pope acknowledged that current global crises had generated a danger of all extremists being tarred with the same brush.

Francis attacked those who say "all Muslims are terrorists", adding: "As we cannot say that all Christians are fundamentalists."

In a rare joint plea, the pope and Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I spoke out against anti-Christian violence, saying the world could not stand by and allow "a Middle East without Christians."

"We cannot resign ourselves to a Middle East without Christians, who have professed the name of Jesus there for two thousand years," the Church leaders said.

They said the "terrible situation" of Christians calls "for an appropriate response on the part of the international community".