Pope Leo XIV reflected on how society is evolving in a way that leaves less and less room for Christian values; he expressed this as a “profound cultural change” that limits our understanding of the human person.
“In many environments, we observe advanced processes of secularization, a growing polarization in public discourse, and the tendency to reduce the complexity of the human person, interpreting them through partial and insufficient ideologies or categories.”
Although this change is evident and unstoppable, he emphasizes that the role played by priests is fundamental in continuing to carry the message of the Gospel.
This is why the Pope tries to answer the question: how should a priest behave in this new world? Pope Leo emphasized that the priest's role cannot be reduced to completing administrative tasks.
"Certainly, priests should not be men defined by the multiplication of tasks or by pressure to achieve results, but rather men configured in Christ, capable of sustaining their ministry through a living relationship with Him. A priest does not live to show off, but neither to hide. His life is called to be visible, coherent, and recognizable, even when it is not always understood."
Additionally, the Pope also stressed the importance of living priestly fraternity—that is, clergy supporting one another and sustaining each other in the exercise of ministry in these difficult times, as he has already emphasized on several occasions.
POPE LEO XIV
The Lord has willed that we live precisely in this time full of challenges that sometimes seem greater than our strength. We are called to embrace these challenges, to interpret them in an evangelical way, to live them as an occasion to bear witness. Let us not run away from them.
He shared these words of encouragement last June when addressing all the priests in the Diocese of Rome.
He has delivered the same message again, but this time Pope Leo was addresseing the participants in the Priestly Assembly Convivium of the Archdiocese of Madrid.
