Pope Leo XIV stressed the need to defend the dignity of the unborn and the elderly and called on governments to invest in the family, ‘founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman.’
VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) -- During his first address to the Vatican Diplomatic Corps on Friday, Pope Leo XIV noted that the traditional definition of marriage is the foundation of the family and highlighted the human dignity of both the unborn and the elderly.
In his inaugural address to the Vatican Diplomatic Corps on May 16, Pope Leo XIV, while discussing the need to build a peaceful and just society by investing in the family, emphasized that the family is built upon a "stable bond between a man and a woman" and that every individual, including unborn children and the elderly, have equal human dignity. In his address, the Holy Father also stressed the need to uphold Christian truth and called for worldwide peace, especially in the war-torn regions of the Middle East and Ukraine.
Pope Leo XIV first noted that government leaders must work to build peaceful societies, then highlighted how this can be achieved by investing in the family, which has at its foundation a union between a man and a woman.
"It is the responsibility of government leaders to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies. This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman, 'a small but genuine society, and prior to all civil society,'" the pontiff said.
READ: Does Pope Leo XIV represent a new dawn for the Church?
Here, the Holy Father notably borrows the phrase "a small but genuine society" to describe the family from Pope Leo XIII's landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum.
Pope Leo XIV added that a just society ensures the dignity of every person, especially the most vulnerable, such as the unborn and the elderly.
"In addition, 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," the pope said.
This is not the first time the new pontiff has made remarks affirming Church teaching on abortion, homosexual "marriage," and euthanasia. In 2012, then-Father Robert Prevost denounced media "sympathy" for promoting evils contrary to the Gospel, such as abortion, the homosexual lifestyle, and euthanasia.
FLASHBACK: Pope Leo XIV denounced media 'sympathy' for 'abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia'
Later in the address, Pope Leo XIV noted that peaceful relationships within the international community are built on truth and underscored that the Church can never be exempted from speaking the Truth that is Jesus Christ.
"Furthermore, from the Christian perspective, truth is not the affirmation of abstract and disembodied principles, but an encounter with the person of Christ Himself, alive in the midst of the community of believers," the pontiff 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."The Holy Father concluded his address by noting the current Jubilee Year and the opportunity for nations to make peace, especially in the war-torn regions of the Middle East and Ukraine.
"[The Jubilee Year] 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 of us in accordance with his or her own sensibilities and responsibilities, can build a world in which everyone can lead an authentically human life in truth, justice and peace," the pope said. "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."These sentiments echo those Pope Leo XIV made in his inaugural Regina Caeli address last Sunday, in which the pontiff called for an end to global wars.
READ: Leo XIV calls for end to global wars in first Sunday address
To read Pope Leo XIV's full first address to the Vatican Diplomatic Corps, click HERE.
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