Pope Leo XIV: live the faith without 'hostility towards the world'
Editorial illustration — Press Pass USAPope Leo XIV told pilgrims gathered in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday that the Christian faith should not be lived in a spirit of opposition or hostility toward the world, continuing his catechetical series on the Second Vatican Council's pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes.
“The constitution Gaudium et Spes reminds us not to live the faith in a spirit of opposition or hostility towards the world, culture, and its human expressions,” the pope said during the general audience, according to the National Catholic Register. He added that a mature and responsible synthesis between faith and culture is “an essential requirement for bearing witness to the faith” and “a necessary condition for persevering in the Christian vocation.”
Citing the document, he urged believers to “live in very close union with the other men of their time and [to] strive to understand perfectly their way of thinking and judging, as expressed in their culture.” Before taking the platform, the pope spent about 15 minutes riding through the square in the popemobile, blessing around a dozen children brought to him from the crowd.
The audience was the latest in the pope's series on the documents of Vatican II, this week focused on the relationship between faith and culture in Gaudium et Spes, paragraphs 53 to 62.
Sources: National Catholic Register (Oct 28, 2026); Catholic News World, full text of the audience (Oct 28, 2026).
Sponsored