Pope Leo: The Church cannot remain passive in face of injustice

In his Sept. 2 General Audience, Pope Leo XIV called the Church to ongoing conversion amid the challenges of the modern world, urging Catholics to share in the joys and suffering of others. 

His reflection began a new catechesis on the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, Latin for “joy and hope,” which addresses the Church’s relationship with the contemporary world. 

Pope Leo rooted that relationship in the Incarnation, explaining that Christ chose to share fully in human life.

“This sharing in our humanity is the path that Christ calls the Church to follow; hence, the Conciliar Constitution Gaudium et Spes begins by declaring 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,” the Pope said.

The Holy Father said sharing those joys and sufferings requires the Church to draw close to others.

“It is a sharing that calls on us 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,” Pope Leo said. “We cannot remain as unengaged spectators; rather, we must listen with our hearts, allow ourselves to be challenged, and become involved”

That involvement begins with entering into the struggles of those who suffer, Pope Leo continued.

“With Christ and sustained by the power of His Spirit, believers are called to take on the burdens of their brothers and sisters, especially those who are crushed by injustice, discrimination, and violence,” he said.

By drawing close to people, the Pope explained, the Church can better understand the present age and discern how to respond.

“Proximity towards humanity opens the way to a deeper understanding of events and of Revelation itself; and, in the same vein, 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,’” he said.

That commitment also requires conversion, Pope Leo said, because the Church seeks to carry forward Christ’s work rather than pursue earthly ambition. He pointed in particular to its relationship with the poor.

“Pope Francis reminded us that for the Church, ‘the option for the poor is primarily a theological category rather than a cultural, sociological, political or philosophical one…,” We are called to find Christ in them, to lend our voice to their causes, but also to be their friends, to listen to them, to speak for them and to embrace the mysterious wisdom which God wishes to share with us through them,’”the Pope said, quoting the late pontiff.

Solidarity must also shape how the Church responds to the inequalities of contemporary life, according to Pope Leo..

“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, pointing to Christ as ‘the key,’” he said, quoting Lumen Gentium, “‘the focal point and the goal of … all human history.’”