Pope Leo urges unity for divided Church, vows not to be ‘autocrat’ • FRANCE 24 English

[Music] Arriving by Pope mobile, the new pontiff greeted crowds in St. Peter’s Square. Pope Leo wasted no time setting the tone for his papacy in his inaugural mass, calling out global systems that harm the planet and the marginalized. In this our time, we see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudices, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest. The Pope vowed to make the church a force for peace in the world. and he called for unity, a word he used seven times during his remarks. His predecessor left a divided church with conservatives accusing Francis of sewing confusion with off-the- cuff remarks that sent mixed messages. Many in the crowd expressed their hopes that Pope Leo will be able to bridge divisions. I would say all of the Americans are emotional about it. Um, having an American pope is not something we ever thought would happen. It’s really powerful for American Catholics who sometimes feel separated from the world church to be kind of brought in and you know included in this community through Pope Leo. Um I hope uh it’s potentially a way to bring everybody together. There’s obviously a lot of conflicts around the world and I hope that uh the Pope can potentially uh be a a healer uh and a connection to everybody. The Pope did not shy away from global events calling for an end to conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine. Among the congregation attending the mass in Rome, world leaders including Ukrainian President Womir Zalinski and US Vice President JD Vance. The Pope is scheduled to hold his first private audience with Zalinski to discuss the Ukraine war.

Pope Leo XIV formally began his reign on Sunday by reaching out to conservatives who felt orphaned under his predecessor, calling for unity, vowing to preserve the Catholic Church’s heritage and not rule like “an autocrat.” Story by Catherine Viette.
#Vatican #Pope #Leo

🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE – Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN

🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/

Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on X: https://f24.my/Xen
Bluesky: https://f24.my/BSen and Threads: https://f24.my/THen
Browse the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
Discover our TikTok videos: https://f24.my/TKen
Get the latest top stories on Telegram: https://f24.my/TGen

2 comments

Comments are closed.