Pope Leo XIV delivered a fiery sermon that called on the Catholic Church to battle a “lack of faith” during his first English Mass at the Vatican on Friday since being elected the 267th pontiff.
The Holy Father “desperately” warned the church that people were turning their backs on faith and self-soothing with “technology, money, success, power, or pleasure,” BBC reported.
He added, in Italian, “A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
Leo, 69, also called on his cardinals to follow him in unity, saying, “I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me.”
Addressing the seated cardinals in the Sistine Chapel, he added that he had been elected to be a “faithful administrator” of the Catholic Church, which would act as a “beacon that illuminates the dark nights of this world.”
The Mass was broadcast live from the Vatican, and Leo, dressed in a white papal robe with gold trim, looked every bit the part as the first American Pope.
On the heels of Pope Francis’ death on April 12, Leo has also been heralded as a Francis successor who could continue the late pope’s progress approach—and his distaste for the Trump administration’s politics.
In his first speech on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Leo XIV echoed Francis’ “build bridges” sentiment that he used to contest Trump’s call to build walls.
Moreover, mere weeks before his ascension to the top Catholic Church, Leo XIV blasted Vice President JD Vance for using religion to justify the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“JD Vance is wrong,” he wrote. “Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
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