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Faithful cannot accept oppression, injustice, pope says
Confirmed
In Short: Pope Leo XIV addressed the faithful at his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square, emphasizing the need to combat oppression and injustice.
The pontiff highlighted the Church's mission to promote justice, peace, and fraternity, quoting from the Second Vatican Council's document 'Gaudium et Spes.'
Pope Leo XIV stressed that Christians, by worshipping Christ, are called to work for justice and peace, noting that the Church desires to develop freely under any government that respects basic rights.
He also warned against the logic of profit at all costs and the manipulation of information, urging people to look beyond material goods.
The pope emphasized the Church's role in building the 'earthly city,' though its methods are not primarily political.
Pope Leo XIV called for cooperation with the grace of the Holy Spirit to ensure that professed faith is reflected in daily life.
He noted that the discrepancy between professed faith and daily life is a serious error of modern times.
The pontiff urged pastors, theologians, and the faithful to discern what in modern cultures is worthy of consideration without diluting Christianity.
Pope Leo XIV concluded by stating that the Church is 'grafted into' the world, striving for the salvation of the whole human race through personal holiness and fraternal love.
What's confirmed
- VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Christians “cannot accept the oppression of the weak and the poor, nor the unjust structures that perpetuate conditions of dependence and injustice,” Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly general audience.
- By worshipping Christ, “the Righteous One who died for the unrighteous,” the faithful are called to work for justice, peace and fraternity, the pope said Oct. 7 in St. Peter’s Square.
- “The Church, therefore, ‘has no fiercer desire than that in pursuit of the welfare of all she may be able to develop herself freely under any kind of government which grants recognition to the basic rights of person and family, to the demands of the common good,'” he said, quoting from the conciliar constitution, “Gaudium et Spes,” as he continued his series of talks on documents from the Second Vatican Council.
- Just as Christ was incarnated to reconcile the world with God, the Church exists within the world as a “sign of the incarnation of God, in order to manifest His plan to make us all His children in one great human family,” Pope Leo said.
- “The logic of profit at all costs and the manipulation of information risk exerting undue pressure on people to conform to a lifestyle centered on the consumption of material goods, but our hearts are made to look upwards,” Pope Leo said.
- The Church’s mission also includes contributing to building the “earthly city,” he said, although its methods and aims are not primarily political.
- Living the faith in contemporary society also requires pastors, theologians and the faithful to discern what in modern cultures is worthy of consideration without “watering down” Christianity to make it more attractive, Pope Leo said.
- “This requires a balanced mind, free from cultural trends, capable of viewing the world in a positive light whilst remaining steadfast in preserving and presenting the Gospel message in its entirety,” he said.
- “She strives towards this end above all through personal holiness and fraternal love,” he said.
What's still developing
- Nothing material beyond the confirmed record.