Pope Leo XIV has thanked the College of Cardinals for its work during its two-day extraordinary consistory, highlighting its reflections on war, poverty, and social fragmentation as well as deeper wounds such as loneliness and loss of meaning. Source: EWTN News.
The Pope said in his closing address on Saturday that he was “particularly struck by the way [the cardinals] spoke about young people,” especially in their suffering that can at times lead “to the extreme despair of taking their own lives”.
“You have recognised one of the deepest wounds of our time,” he said, “yet you have also been able to recognise the work of the Holy Spirit [in their] search for authenticity, for genuine relationships, and for meaning.”
Addressing another of the world’s wounds – war – Leo XIV reiterated themes from his encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, warning that war stems from a broader “culture of power” affecting politics, economics, and even religion.
“War is born within us,” he said, but it is “precisely in the heart that peace is also decided.” It is in that same heart, he said, where Christ “continues to meet us, speak to us, and to convert us,” and he called for renewed commitment to dialogue, multilateral cooperation, and nonviolent responses rooted in the Gospel.
Issuing a global appeal, Pope Leo declared: “God desires peace for every nation and every people,” urging the Church to help the world reject violence and rediscover the Lord’s paths of reconciliation.
Pope Leo also underscored the importance of the family, the Church’s social doctrine, and the formation of consciences, while reaffirming the role of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue in promoting peace.
He urged the cardinals to deepen the Church’s synodal path as a “spiritual style” rooted in listening, discernment, and fidelity to the Gospel. Synodality, he said, is not primarily about structures or decision-making, but about safeguarding the Church’s mission through shared discernment.
“The question is not ‘who decides,’” he said, “but how we together safeguard the gift entrusted to the Church.”
He likened this two-day gathering – which had a distinctly synodal format of working group discussions – to the Gospel account of the disciples on the road to Emmaus in which Christ renews hope and clarifies mission.
The Pope closed by entrusting the fruits of the consistory to the intercession of Our Lady.”
He reiterated that these extraordinary consistories will take place annually, and said he will be announcing next year’s meeting at the end of the year.
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Pope Leo XIV closes consistory with appeal to help world find God’s paths to peace (By Edward Pentin, EWTN News)
