Vatican City: Pope Leo XIV has called on Christians to practice mutual love through honest dialogue, fraternal correction, forgiveness and shared prayer, saying that love is one debt that does not enslave people.
Speaking during the Sunday Angelus from the window of the Apostolic Palace, the Pope reflected on the message of the day’s liturgy and on St. Paul’s teaching in the Letter to the Romans that all commandments are summed up in the call to love one’s neighbour as oneself.
Pope Leo said Christians are called to owe one another nothing except love. While Jesus teaches people how to ask for and offer forgiveness of debts, the Pope highlighted mutual love as a different kind of debt because care, goodness and attention received from others can make people freer and more responsible.
The Pope identified two ways in which Christians can live out this mutual love.
The first is the ability to give and receive fraternal correction. Pope Leo described this as a delicate practice that requires honesty and a gradual approach.
He explained that problems should first be addressed between the people involved, then, when necessary, with a small group and eventually with the wider community. Such an approach can help people face reality and turn conflicts into opportunities for growth.
Pope Leo also warned against complaining and speaking badly about others, saying such behaviour does not resolve problems and can leave situations unchanged. Instead, he said, the Gospel points to a freedom that comes through charity.
The second way is to love one another as brothers and sisters. According to Pope Leo, this kind of love also shapes the way Christians pray, particularly when they are facing conflict or bringing their needs before God.
Referring to Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel of Matthew that when two people agree on earth about what they ask, it will be done by the Father in heaven, the Pope said shared prayer can bring people together. Desires, suffering and hopes can be placed before God in a way that helps people grow in unity.
Pope Leo said that without faith, people can feel isolated and become suspicious of others, treating them as strangers or enemies. Through grace, he said, people can instead become brothers and sisters who meet, forgive and listen to one another in the Lord.
He concluded the Angelus by asking Mary to teach everyone the “joyful debt of fraternal love.”