Josephine Peterson

Catholics must not live their faith in opposition or “hostility” toward modern culture, Pope Leo XIV said, emphasizing that integrating faith and culture is essential to living out the Christian vocation and sharing the Gospel with others.

Marriage requires more than physical attraction, Pope Leo XIV said in his first weekly general audience since undergoing lung cancer surgery, emphasizing that authentic love involves mutual self-giving, fidelity and a lifelong commitment between spouses.

Christians “cannot accept the oppression of the weak and the poor, nor the unjust structures that perpetuate conditions of dependence and injustice,” Pope Leo XIV said at his weekly general audience.

At a shrine where the sick and disabled are prioritized, Pope Leo XIV said human frailty can never diminish a person’s dignity, bringing one of the central messages of his visit to France, where the government recently legalized assisted dying.

In a world of increasing technological dependence and polarization, Pope Leo XIV said there is greater urgency for humanity to see itself as a single “human community.”

Pope Leo XIV urged Catholics to gather in person for Sunday Mass and called for working conditions that allow people to attend, saying Sunday is “the foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year.”