Declan Barry @DecBarry

Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday called for “unmasking the contradictions” of the contemporary world and said that believers are called to take on “the burdens of their brothers and sisters, especially those who are crushed by injustice, discrimination, and violence.” The pontiff made this appeal during his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Sept. 2, during which he inaugurated a new series of catecheses dedicated to the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, one of the Church’s most significant responses to the challenges and expectations of the modern world. The document of the Second Vatican Council, approved and promulgated on Dec. 7, 1965, highlights, as Leo explained, the essentially pastoral nature of the Church, born of “a renewed fidelity to the mystery of Christ who, by becoming incarnate, chooses to share our life.” For this reason, he recalled that the conciliar constitution Gaudium et Spes opens with the famous statement that the Church makes her own “the joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted.” This commitment, the pontiff added, calls Christians “to leave behind all passivity and indifference in the face of current events, history, and people’s lives, especially in the face of the rapid and profound changes we are experiencing today.” He emphasized that closeness to humanity allows for a deeper understanding both of historical events and of revelation itself. From that perspective, he noted that Gaudium et Spes recalls that “the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel.” The Holy Father clarified that this attitude does not stem solely from a “merely moral imperative.” To explain this, he cited the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, considered the roadmap of Pope Francis’ pontificate, which reminds us that for the Church “the option for the poor is primarily a theological category rather than a cultural, sociological, political, or philosophical one.” “Christian solidarity commits us to engaging with reality and also to unmasking the contradictions that characterize personal and social life in the contemporary world,” the pope said. He then listed some examples of those contradictions. On the one hand, he pointed to “scientific and technological progress, which constantly offers new possibilities, but only to some”; on the other, a clearer understanding of the “laws of society,” accompanied, however, by uncertainties “about the direction to give” them. He also highlighted the paradox of possessing “wealth, resources, and economic power” while, at the same time, “a huge proportion of the world’s citizens are still tormented by hunger and poverty.” Likewise, he lamented that there is growing awareness that the future of the planet is at stake and yet a persistent inability to renounce “selfish consumption” and “the illusion that war is an effective means of building peace.” “In a time marked by profound changes, giving rise to worrying imbalances, the Church is called to serve the human person, listening to and welcoming the deepest questions of their heart and the longings that dwell within them,” the Holy Father said. More: ewtnnews.com/vatican/pope-c…

Pope at Audience: Church is called to serve humanity, unmask society's contradictions - Vatican News vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2…

Jesus’ action in the #GospelOfTheDay (Mt 14:13-21) teaches us that nothing is discarded when it is shared. Hoarding and waste, however, are two sides of the same evil: greed. So, in the face of an opulence that reeks of decay, we find the outstretched hands of those who have no nourishment, the burned homes of those who have no peace.

Asked by @Telemundo what is being done wrong and what could be improved regarding immigration in the United States, Pope Leo referred to the concert he had just attended, which featured children from various countries—"of different races, perhaps of different religions. They were all singing together to beautiful music. A beauty that, I believe, was an invitation to us all to look beyond and see the beauty that can be created—and in which we can participate—when we set aside certain differences and recognize the richness of the human being: that we are all created in the image of God."

Let us #PrayTogether for all those peoples throughout the world who are suffering because of war. May the Lord touch the hearts and enlighten the minds of those in power, so that reconciliation and #peace may soon prevail.

@jzipple Prayers for a speedy recovery

I just play it on repeat since yesterday: "Hello Pope Leo XIV, I'm Renzo, I'm six years old. I'd like to ask you a few questions." Renzo, a little a boy from the poor neighborhood of Barcelona, stole the show yesterday at St. Augustine's parish, a place where Pope Leo admitted he "feels at home." Renzo in the sweetest way ever asked those questions to the pope: Do you like soccer? When you were little, did you want to be Pope? Why are my mom and dad worried? Why does my dad have so many jobs? Why do bad things happen to some people and not to others? Whose fault is it? Why are there so many people living on the streets? Does no one see them? Does no one help them? How can we help if the world is so big? Does God want there to be poor and rich? Why are there so many lonely grandparents, if they are so important? And one last question ... Must we always forgive? What pope Leo answered the boy was really moving. "Regarding whether I like football, I confess that I play tennis and I enjoy it very much, but I also appreciate football; in fact, during my years as bishop in Peru, I liked to follow how some local teams were doing; and now, as Pope, I have also received football clubs and sports groups," the pope said, adding that "sport is important because it helps us grow up healthy in body and mind." He said that as World Cup unfolds, "many will be watching the matches. Football reminds us of something we must not forget: life is not a race to show off alone, but a path we learn to travel together." "Whoever doesn't know how to pass the ball, even if they have talent, hasn't yet understood the game. And whoever doesn't know how to live with others and for others hasn't yet understood life." Answering whether he wanted to be Pope when he was little, the pope said: "Well, Renzo, I don't think so. I don't think I ever thought about it." "But I can tell you something: from a young age, I felt the desire to dedicate my life to God. I didn't yet know exactly how or where the Lord would lead me. Over time, I discovered that Jesus was calling me to follow him as a priest, and that this path led through the Order of Saint Augustine." "But this isn't just true for me," he said. "Every child is a dream of God. You are too. God desires the happiness of all and wants us, from childhood and throughout our lives, to have a heart like that of children (cf. Mt 18:3): capable of trusting, full of kindness; he wants us to be his friends and not turn away from him. Therefore, more important than asking oneself whether one will be a priest, doctor, teacher, parent, or anything else, is asking oneself whether one wants to be a friend of Jesus. Because friendship with Jesus gives us joy, sets us free, and helps us to see, step by step, the vocation and the path that God has planned for each of us." Answering the point on injustices in the world, Pope Leo told the boy that "through the life of Jesus Christ, God shows us that, although there is suffering, he never abandons any of his children, because he has prepared for us an eternal joy where there will be no more sadness or pain. Let us have confidence, Jesus is with us, he helps us and accompanies us, and gives us strength to go through the difficult moments we may encounter in life." Stressing that grandparents play a crucial role in families, the pope said: "Let us not allow loneliness and abandonment to become normalized in the lives of older adults. That is a very sad thing. Let's have our hearts open to all of them." On forgiveness, he told Renzo and those gathered: "It does not mean forgetting by force, as if nothing had happened. Forgiveness means not letting hatred become the master of our hearts ... our willingness to forgive is a condition for the forgiveness we receive from God." Video: Vatican Media

We must keep in mind two attitudes in our Christian life in order to be “wise architects” in building the civilization of love. The first guiding principle is to take up the cross of Christ as Good Samaritans, accompanying and helping to carry the burdens of so many brothers and sisters who are crucified by life’s trials. The second principle is to cultivate a Eucharistic spirituality, a spirituality of ecclesial unity in love.

Pope Leo: "Every boat that arrives does not bring only migrants; it brings with it a question: what world have we built, if so many brothers must risk death to seek life?"

Veiem per primera vegada la torre de Jesucrist il·luminada! L'espectacle de llum iniciat des de la base fins a la il·luminació de la creu ha culminat amb una composició de llums guiats per drons, que han dibuixat la figura Gaudí i la frase «primer l'amor, després la tècnica».

"We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent" Speaking beneath the soaring towers of Gaudí's Sagrada Família, Pope Leo XIV reminded the world that Christian faith can never be separated from the dignity of every human person. "We cannot believe in Jesus and promote war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent. We cannot believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, those who weep, those who flee from misery." Preaching in Barcelona, the Pope reflected on the cross crowning the basilica, calling it "the cross of the last who become first, of sinners who become saints, of the dead who will rise again." The highest tower of the Sagrada Família, which he will bless today, may point toward heaven, but today Pope Leo's message pointed us toward our neighbor: the suffering, the displaced, the forgotten, and the vulnerable. Faith, he reminded us, is not an idea carved in stone. It is a life transformed by the love of Christ.

Pope Leo at Sagrada Familia: “We cannot believe in Jesus and make war. We cannot believe in Jesus and kill the innocent. We cannot believe in Jesus and abandon those who suffer, those who weep, those who flee from misery.”

Every truly just society is built upon the recognition of the inviolable dignity of the human person. Such dignity precedes any concession by the State and cannot be subordinated to shifting social consensus. It belongs to every human being by the very fact of their existence, and for this reason, it must guide every positive legal system. When this conviction remains alive, the law becomes a safeguard for all and a guarantee against the imposition of particular interests and agendas. #ApostolicJourney vatican.va/content/leo-xi…

Silence can help us most to recognize the voice of God, since it fosters attention and recollection. Freed from the noise of a thousand voices, we come to recognize that some voices deceive our desires, others buy us without nourishing us, and still others speak out of self-interest. In silence, we understand that ideologies pass away, while truth remains. vatican.va/content/leo-xi…

Archbishop Farrell @dublindiocese: the Church's challenge is to empower people to give of their gifts Read Archbishop Farrell's homily delivered during Mass today, the Feast of Saint Kevin, patron of Dublin ⬇️ catholicbishops.ie/2026/06/03/arc…

Let us #PrayTogether that sports may be an instrument of peace, encounter, and dialogue among cultures and nations, in order to promote the values of respect, solidarity, and personal growth. #PrayerIntention @clicktopray_en popesprayer.va/praywiththepop…

Artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships, and do not know from within what love, work, friendship or responsibility mean. Nor do they have a moral conscience, since they do not judge good and evil, grasp the ultimate meaning of situations, or bear responsibility for consequences. They may imitate or even simulate, but they do not understand what they produce, for they lack the affective, relational, and spiritual perspective through which human beings grow in wisdom. #MagnificaHumanitas

During the presentation of Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV gave thanks to Anthropic co‑founder Christopher Olah – and, in the name of the Church, accepted his invitation “to walk together” in this time of artificial intelligence.

The Holy Spirit opens the door of our heart, helping us to overcome resistance, selfishness, mistrust and prejudice, while enabling us to live as children of God and brothers and sisters to one another.

The Spirit opens the doors of the Church so that it can be welcoming and hospitable to all, even to those who have closed their doors on God and neighbour, on hope and the joy of living.