At the Wednesday audience in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians to engage with what is happening in society.
POPE LEO XIV
This document tells us that the disciples of Christ are called to share the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the people of our time. This means that the Church cannot remain passive or indifferent to what happens in the world. Instead, she is called to walk alongside humanity, especially in the face of the rapid and profound changes taking place.
That was the message delivered during the audience, which returned to St. Peter’s Square after being held inside the basilica for several weeks.
Pope Leo continues his reflections on the documents of the Second Vatican Council. This Wednesday, he began a new one, called Gaudium et Spes. The text addresses the relationship between the Church and the world and is considered the Church’s “pastoral constitution.”
POPE LEO XIV
With Christ and strengthened by the power of his Spirit, believers are called to take on the difficulties of their brothers and sisters, especially those who suffer from injustice, discrimination, and violence. Indeed, only through self-giving and commitment can we find appropriate responses, always sustained by the certainty that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us.”
He went on to explain that the Church calls for a commitment to conversion in order to continue Christ’s work. He also reflected on the legacy of his predecessor, Pope Francis.
POPE LEO XIV
This is not simply a moral disposition. Pope Francis reminded us that for the Church, “the option for the poor is a theological category before it is cultural, sociological, political, or philosophical […] We are called to discover Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to understand them, and to receive the mysterious wisdom that God wishes to communicate to us through them.”
After the Our Father was sung in Latin, the pope stopped to greet some of those present and wished students in the Northern Hemisphere a good start to the new school year.
