Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff to take up the highest seat in the Catholic Church, returned to the Sistine Chapel on Friday to deliver his first mass in an address to the more than 1.4 billion Catholics he now leads.
The pontiff urged outreach and missionary work and warned that much of what the Church stands for, and the belief in Jesus Christ, has been lessened in the eyes of both believers and non-believers.
“Today, too, there are many settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or superman,” he said in a homily translated from Italian, warning that this has led to even baptized Christians living in “a state of practical atheism.”
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“There are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure,” the pope said.
The new pontiff will face many challenges ahead as followers wait to see how he will lead the church and which issues he will choose to put great emphasis on.
The pope has not said why he chose the name Leo to call himself, but papal names signify predecessors or values they admire, suggesting the newest pontiff will put great emphasis on social issues based on others in the papacy who have held that name.
Like his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo is expected to focus on humanity and kindness, particularly in the face of global migration and helping the poor.
It remains unclear how this American pope will interact with the Trump administration, given apparent divisions over positions on the treatment of migrants and other issues involving human rights.
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In his homily, the pope also pointed to a loss of faith and argued it has not only led to a loss in the meaning of life, but a loss in “human dignity.”
“These are contexts where it is not easy to preach the Gospel and bear witness to its truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised or at best tolerated and pitied,” he said.
Pope Leo went on to say that “A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
