The sanctity of life, from conception to its natural end, must be defended, especially now, in a world marked by “the madness of war”, Pope Leo XIV said yesterday. Source: OSV News.
When greeting Polish-speaking visitors during his general audience in St Peter’s Square, Pope Leo highlighted Poland’s pro-life celebration during his greetings, saying initiatives such as their “Spiritual Adoption of a Conceived Child” were truly needed.
“In a time marked by the madness of war, it is important to defend life from conception to its natural end,” he said.
Marking the feast of the Annunciation, Pope Leo invited Catholics to follow the example of the Blessed Virgin Mary more closely and to “always be ready to do God’s will.”
“As we continue our Lenten journey, let us ask the Lord to grant us the grace to imitate Our Blessed Mother in her total ‘yes’ to the Lord, and so open our hearts to his will for our lives,” he told English-speaking pilgrims and visitors.
In his main catechesis, the Pope continued his series of reflections on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, specifically, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium.
Pope Leo explained that the hierarchical structure of the Church is not a “human construct” for fulfilling some kind of organisational function, but is “a divine institution whose purpose is to perpetuate the mission given by Christ to the apostles until the end of time”.
The Catholic Church, he said, is “founded on the apostles, whom Christ appointed as the living pillars of his mystical body, and possesses a hierarchical structure that works in the service of the unity, mission and sanctification of all her members.”
Since the apostles are called to faithfully preserve Christ’s “salvific teaching, they hand on their ministry to men who, until Christ’s return, continue to sanctify, guide and instruct the Church ‘through their successors in pastoral office’,” he said.
While all the faithful make up “the one priesthood of Christ,” he said, those ordained ministers who have received the Sacrament of Holy Orders, that is, bishops, priests and deacons, do have a unique ministry.
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Life must be defended in a world wounded by warfare, Pope says (By Carol Glatz, OSV News)
