Pope Leo in Monaco: Christ calls the Church to communion
Pope Leo XIV invites the Catholic community of Monaco to
renew a faith capable of addressing secularism, promoting dignity, and
proclaiming the Gospel with creativity and conviction.
By Linda Bordoni
In the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, at the heart
of the Principality, Pope Leo XIV gathered with the Catholic community of
Monaco on Saturday morning for the celebration of Midday Prayer, and offered
a reflection centred on Christ as “our advocate
before the Father.”
Addressing the faithful, the Pope began with the words of
the Apostle John: “We have an advocate before God: Jesus Christ, the righteous
one,” and he invited all present to contemplate the mystery of salvation as
God’s initiative of mercy toward a humanity marked by weakness and sin.
Christ, he said, “took upon himself the evil found in
humanity and in the world (…) and has overcome this evil, transforming it
and freeing us forever.”
Greeting Prince Albert II of Monaco, Archbishop
Dominique-Marie David, and the clergy and faithful, the Pope expressed his joy
at sharing in the life of a local Church distinguished by its diversity and
openness.
The gift of communion
Reflecting on Jesus as our advocate, Pope Leo XIV first
highlighted the gift of communion. Christ, he said, “reconciles us with the
Father and with one another,” not through condemnation, but through mercy that
“purifies, heals, transforms and makes us part of the one family of God.”
This communion, he noted, is also social in its
implications. Jesus’ mission restores not only spiritual well-being but also human
dignity, reintegrating individuals into the community. In this light, the
Church is called to be “a reflection in this world of the love of God which
shows no favouritism.”
Turning to the local context, the Pope observed that
Monaco’s social and cultural diversity is a richness, not a division. “In the
Church,” he said, “such variety should never become the occasion of division
into social classes,” but rather a sign that all are welcomed as “persons and
children of God.”
Meeting with Catholic
community in Monaco (@Vatican Media)
A Church that defends the human person
The Pope then highlighted a second dimension of Christ’s
advocacy: the proclamation of the Gospel in defence of every human being.
Jesus, he said, gives voice to those “forgotten and marginalised,” revealing a
merciful God who “works vindication and justice for all who are oppressed.”
In this perspective, the Church herself is called to be an
“advocate,” committed to the integral development of the human person. The
Gospel, he explained, must illuminate human identity, relationships, and the
ultimate meaning of life.
Encouraging renewed missionary zeal, Pope Leo XIV urged the
faithful to “proclaim the Gospel of life, hope and love,” defending human
dignity “from conception until natural death.” He also warned against the
pressures of secularism, which risk reducing human life to individualism and
economic productivity.
A living and prophetic faith
The Pope cautioned against allowing faith to become routine.
“A living faith is always prophetic,” he said, capable of raising questions
about justice, solidarity, and the ethical foundations of society.
Questioning whether the current economic and social models
truly promote the dignity of all, or whether they remain confined to “the logic
of profit as an end in itself,” the Pope concluded, inviting the faithful to
fix their gaze on Christ, which he said, leads to a faith that
transforms both personal life and society.
Such faith, he exhorted, must be communicated “through a
fresh language and by new tools, including those that are digital,” with
particular attention to those rediscovering their faith.
Pope Leo during the
meeting with the Catholic community (@Vatican Media)
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