Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV has called on the Catholic Church to remain actively engaged with the realities facing humanity, especially the suffering of vulnerable people, rather than remaining passive in the face of social change, injustice and violence.
Speaking at the Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on September 2, the Pope said the Church must listen to people, respond to the challenges of the present time and share the burdens of those affected by injustice, discrimination and violence.
Pope Leo began a new phase of his catechesis on the Documents of the Second Vatican Council by reflecting on the 1965 Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, meaning “joy and hope”, which addresses the Church’s relationship with the modern world.
The Pope said Christian solidarity requires believers to engage with reality and recognise the contradictions present in contemporary personal and social life. He pointed to several examples, including scientific and technological progress that does not benefit everyone, growing knowledge of social systems without certainty about their direction, and the concentration of wealth and economic power while many people continue to suffer from hunger and poverty.
He also highlighted the contradiction between growing awareness that the future of the planet is at risk and the continued dependence on selfish consumption. Another contradiction, he said, is the belief that war can be an effective way to build peace.
Against this background, Pope Leo said the Church is called to serve the human person by listening to people’s deepest questions and hopes and by pointing to Christ as the key, focal point and goal of human history.
The Pope also referred to Pope St. John XXIII and his opening address to the Second Vatican Council in 1962. John XXIII had challenged the belief that his generation was living in a worse period than previous generations, urging people instead to recognise the work of Divine Providence through history.
Pope Leo explained that Gaudium et Spes presents the Church’s involvement in the life of humanity as an essential part of its nature. Just as Jesus Christ became incarnate and shared human life, the Church is called to share in the experiences of humanity.
The Constitution therefore speaks of the Church making its own the joys and hopes, griefs and anxieties of people today, particularly those who are poor or suffering. Pope Leo said this reflects the Church’s continuing responsibility to examine the signs of the times and understand them in the light of the Gospel.
The Pope placed particular emphasis on people who are poor and most in need. Referring to Pope Francis, he said the Church’s option for the poor is primarily a theological category rather than simply a cultural, social, political or philosophical position.
He called on Christians to recognise Christ in those who suffer, listen to them, support their causes and become their friends. He also stressed the importance of learning from the wisdom that God can reveal through people who experience hardship.
Pope Leo concluded by expressing hope that joy and hope, Gaudium et Spes, would remain defining features of a Church that proclaims and witnesses to the Gospel while drawing close to the women and men of the present time.