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Pope Leo XIV smiles as he leaves after presiding over an evening prayer service at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls in Rome Jan. 25, 2026, concluding the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. (CNS photo/Lola Gomez)

‘Crisis of relativism’ threatens peace in Europe, pope says


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OSV News Filed Under: News, Vatican, World News

Pope Leo XIV warned participants at a European conference on peacebuilding that the “spread of relativism” and reducing truth to a mere opinion undermine the moral foundations needed to build a lasting peace.

The pope’s message, which was signed on his behalf by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, was addressed to participants of the European Conference of the Centesimus Annus Pro-Pontifice Foundation, or CAPPF, in Luxembourg Jan. 23.

In his remarks, according to Vatican News, the pope said that no society can “live in peace and thrive without commonly held truths that inform its norms and values.”

The event, titled “Peace Building in Europe: What Role for Catholic Social Thought and Universal Values?” and sponsored by the CAPPF and the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union, known as COMECE, sought to address escalating conflicts in Europe through the lens of the Church’s social teaching.

“At the beginning of the pontificate of Leo XIV, who has placed strong emphasis on peace and Catholic Social Thought,” the organizers wish “to mobilize its intellectual and relational resources to examine the social, economic, and policy dimensions of peacebuilding through a holistic discussion,” the foundation said in a statement.

In his message, Pope Leo cautioned that modern culture often resists the universal values proposed by religion and noted that, while “this resistance arises for various reasons, the underlying crisis is the spread of relativism and the reduction of truth to opinion.”

True peace, he said, involves a shared commitment to the dignity of the human person created in the “image and likeness of God.”

Citing St. John Paul II’s encyclical, “Centesimus Annus,” on the 100th anniversary of “Rerum Novarum,” the pope noted that “no authentic progress is possible without respect for the natural and fundamental right to know the truth and live according to that truth.”

Pope Leo expressed his hope that the conference would serve as a reminder of Europe’s Christian roots so that through shared values, “a more peaceful and just European continent” may be built.

The Church’s social teaching “has much to offer as it goes beyond borders and provides a platform for collective interests and way of living, thus making peaceful coexistence possible,” the pope said.

Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich of Luxembourg was among the speakers invited to address the conference.

In his keynote address, according to The Luxembourg Chronicle, the cardinal described the current geopolitical moment as a “change of era,” and that while European leaders are focused on rearmament, “military capacity alone would not guarantee security.”

“Peace also requires people willing to defend freedom,” Cardinal Hollerich said, calling for a “spiritual synodality” to help polarized societies navigate their differences through dialogue.

The Luxembourg-based news site reported that Cardinal Hollerich also highlighted the Church’s own synodal experience as an example of dialogue in today’s polarized world.

Also addressing the conference was Halyna Yanchenko, a member of the Ukrainian parliament who appealed for “concrete decisions and rapid action rather than expressions of sympathy.”

Peace, she said, “cannot be achieved through force or imposed at the expense of justice.”

Echoing this sentiment, Father Oleh Zymak, a priest of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, highlighted the “fragility of international institutions” and stressed the need to “uphold human dignity and a fair peace,” The Luxembourg Chronicle reported.

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