Pope Leo XIV urges economic, political life centered on common good
The Holy Father emphasized the importance of the Church’s social teaching in addressing injustice, protecting human dignity, and promoting peace.
During his Nov. 4 Wednesday audience, Pope Leo XIV urged Christians to place human dignity and the common good at the center of economic, political, and social life.
Continuing his catechesis on the Second Vatican Council’s pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, the Holy Father reflected on how these areas of public life can serve as a means of building peace.
“The Council Fathers highlight, first of all, the threat to world peace deriving from the imbalances linked to an economic development that is neither equitable nor respectful of creation,” Pope Leo said. “This is a far-sighted vision, which was unfortunately borne out towards the end of the last century and which we see even more clearly today.”
The Pope stressed that technical progress alone is not enough to address these concerns, pointing to the need for socioeconomic reforms and what he described as a change in mentality and attitude.
Citing the document, the Holy Father explained, “Therefore, Gaudium et Spes summarizes the Christian vision of economic development, which must always be at the service of humankind and under human control.”
The Pope also noted the Council’s call to end discrimination against vulnerable groups and migrants before turning to the role of work in economic life.
“The heart of the economy is work,” Pope Leo said. “Through it, one develops as a person, provides for family needs, expresses one’s own talent, participates in social life and builds a better world by collaborating in God’s creative work. Work must never be distorted to the detriment of people, the common good or creation,” he continued. “The real challenge is to offer everyone opportunities to make the most of their abilities: unemployment, exploitation and working conditions that endanger health and life itself are unacceptable.”
The Holy Father also affirmed workers’ rights to participate in decisions affecting their work, including through trade unions, and called for conflicts to be resolved through dialogue and nonviolent action.
The Pope also cited the Council’s teaching that the earth’s resources are intended for everyone, emphasizing that economic planning must account for the needs of both present and future generations.
Turning to political life, the Pope addressed the relationship between the Church and political authorities.
“Gaudium et Spes reiterates that ‘the Church and the political community in their own fields are autonomous and independent from each other,” he said. “Yet both, under different titles, are devoted to the personal and social vocation of the same men. The more that both foster sounder cooperation between themselves with due consideration for the circumstances of time and place, the more effective will their service be exercised for the good of all.’”
Pope Leo emphasized that these principles also offer a path toward peace.
“Dear friends, engaging in economic and political life in accordance with these criteria is a way of building peace,” he said. “As Pope Francis recalled, ‘war is a failure of politics and of humanity, a shameful capitulation, a stinging defeat before the forces of evil.’ On the contrary, politics that tends to the wounds of peoples and of those who suffer injustice offers grounds for hope for the future of humanity.”
The Holy Father concluded by encouraging young people and Christian communities to put the Church’s social teaching into practice.
“For this reason, I encourage young people to follow the example of those men and women who have borne faithful witness in these fields,” he said. “And I renew my call to Christian communities to revive formation in the social doctrine of the Church.”
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