The Pope at his inaugural Mass signalled the tone his papacy will take – unity and love, centred on Christ

 

The Pope at his inaugural Mass signalled the tone his papacy will take – unity and love, centred on Christ

THE TABLET

Pope Leo XIV spoke out against hatred and violence and indicated the direction his papacy will take – one of love under the authority of the charity of Christ.

In his homily at the Mass in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican this morning that marked the official beginning of his papacy, Pope Leo spoke of the “self-sacrificing love” of St Peter. “Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him,” he said.

“It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power. Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did.”

After the Mass, Pope Leo met Dina Boluarte, President of Peru, where he spent much of his ministry and has dual nationality with the US, and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

US Vice-President JD Vance and Prince Edward, representing King Charles III, were among the international delegates in at the Mass in Rome to witness the start of the ministry of the successor to Pope Francis. Archbishop of York Stephen Cottrell was among those representing the Anglican Communion.

Pope Leo reiterated his emphasis on unity that began with his first greeting to pilgrims in the square after his election at the conclave last week.

“I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world,” he said.

“In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest.

“For our part, we want to be a small leaven of unity, communion and fraternity within the world. We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ!”

The missionary spirit must not be one of “closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world,” he continued. “We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people.”

And significantly, he cited Rerum Novarum, the landmark Catholic social teaching encyclical of the predecessor whose name he took, Leo XIII. “Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love! The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters. With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?”

He also revealed insights into the “intense emotions” of the last few days. “The death of Pope Francis filled our hearts with sadness. In those difficult hours, we felt like the crowds that the Gospel says were ‘like sheep without a shepherd’. Yet on Easter Sunday, we received his final blessing and, in the light of the resurrection, we experienced the days that followed in the certainty that the Lord never abandons his people, but gathers them when they are scattered and guards them “as a shepherd guards his flock”

It was in this spirit of faith that the College of Cardinals met for the conclave, he said.

“I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family. Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus.”