Pope Leo to diplomats: Church will always speak truth, work for justice

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — The Catholic Church wants to reach out and embrace all people who need and yearn for truth, justice and peace, Pope Leo XIV said in his first meeting with the diplomatic corps accredited to the Holy See.

“The church can never be exempted from speaking the truth about humanity and the world, resorting whenever necessary to blunt language that may initially create misunderstanding,” he said. “Yet truth can never be separated from charity, which always has at its root a concern for the life and well-being of every man and woman.”

Because truth is an encounter with the person of Christ who is “alive in the midst of the community of believers,” he said, “truth then, does not create division, but rather enables us to confront all the more resolutely the challenges of our time, such as migration, the ethical use of artificial intelligence and the protection of our beloved planet Earth.”

In his May 16 speech to diplomats in the Clementine Hall, Pope Leo said, “Religions and interreligious dialogue can make a fundamental contribution to fostering a climate of peace.”

Therefore, “full respect for religious freedom in every country” is necessary since “it is difficult, if not impossible, to bring about the purification of the heart necessary for building peaceful relationships” without religious experience, he said.

Every person is called to “begin to eliminate the root causes of all conflicts and every destructive urge for conquest,” he said. “It demands a genuine willingness to engage in dialogue, inspired by the desire to communicate rather than clash.”

So, “new life” must be given to multilateral diplomacy and international institutions tasked with remedying disputes within the international community, he said. There must also be a move to stop the production of “instruments of destruction and death.”

The pope highlighted the purpose of “papal diplomacy,” saying, “The Holy See is inspired by a pastoral outreach that leads it not to seek privileges but to strengthen its evangelical mission at the service of humanity.”

“Resisting all forms of indifference, it appeals to consciences, as witnessed by the constant efforts of my venerable predecessor, ever attentive to the cry of the poor, the needy and the marginalized, as well as to contemporary challenges, ranging from the protection of creation to artificial intelligence,” he said.

“The pillars of the church’s missionary activity and the aim of the Holy See’s diplomacy,” he said, are peace, justice and truth.

Peace is “an active and demanding gift” that “engages and challenges each of us,” starting with working on oneself, he said.

“Peace is built in the heart and from the heart, by eliminating pride and vindictiveness and carefully choosing our words. For words too, not only weapons, can wound and even kill,” Pope Leo said.

“Working for peace requires acting justly,” he said, and the Vatican will not fail “to make its voice heard in the face of the many imbalances and injustices that lead, not least, to unworthy working conditions and increasingly fragmented and conflict-ridden societies.”

“It is the responsibility of government leaders to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies,” he said. “This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman.”

Also, he said, “no one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike.”

Pope Leo, the first pope from the United States, said he is “a citizen, the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate.” Anyone can end up being “healthy or sick, employed or unemployed, living in our native land or in a foreign country” in life, and yet their human dignity always remains unchanged.

The third “pillar” of the church’s mission, he said, is truth.

“Truly peaceful relationships cannot be built, also within the international community, apart from truth,” he said. Where “ambiguous and ambivalent” words and “the virtual world, with its altered perception of reality, takes over unchecked, it is difficult to build authentic relationships, since the objective and real premises of communication are lacking.”

The Catholic Church will always seek to speak the truth and dedicate itself to lovingly serving others and protecting the life and well-being of everyone, he said.

Currently, 184 countries have full diplomatic relations with the Holy See.

Pope Leo said it was “a gift” to see representatives from so many different nations attending the audience, demonstrating “a visible sign of your countries’ respect for the Apostolic See.”

“It allows me to renew the church’s aspiration — and my own — to reach out and embrace all individuals and peoples on the Earth, who need and yearn for truth, justice and peace!” he said.

“I intend to strengthen understanding and dialogue with you and with your countries, many of which I have already had the grace to visit, especially during my time as prior general of the Augustinians,” Pope Leo said.

He said he hoped there would be more occasions to get to know their countries and “to confirm in the faith our many brothers and sisters throughout the world and to build new bridges with all people of goodwill.”

The Jubilee Year dedicated to hope, he said, “is a time of conversion and renewal and, above all, an opportunity to leave conflicts behind and embark on a new path, confident that, by working together,” each person can help “build a world in which everyone can lead an authentically human life in truth, justice and peace.”

“It is my hope that this will be the case everywhere, starting with those places that suffer most grievously, like Ukraine and the Holy Land,” he said, thanking the diplomats for the work they do “to build bridges between your countries and the Holy See.”

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Copyright © 2025 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

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