Emotional Pope Leo, at inaugural mass, urges Church unity and world peace

 Shedding tears of emotion after the traditional Fisherman's ring was placed on his finger, the American pope received tumultuous applause from the crowd of pilgrims and faithful as he drove around St Peter's Square in an open topped popemobile. Among those attending the ceremonies were US Secretary of State JD Vance, Ukrainian President Vlodomir Zelensky and European Commission President Von der Leyden and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

 

 In his homily, Leo said "I was chosen, without any merit of my own, and now, with fear and trembling, I come to you as a brother, who desires to be the servant of your faith and your joy, walking with you on the path of God’s love, for he wants us all to be united in one family.   Love and unity: these are the two dimensions of the mission entrusted to Peter by Jesus. "

 

 "Brothers and sisters, I would like that our first great desire be for a united Church, a sign of unity and communion, which becomes a leaven for a reconciled world.   In this our time, we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalises the poorest." 

 

 "For our part, we want to be a small leaven of  unity, communion and fraternity within the world.  We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: Look to Christ!  Come closer to him!  Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles!  Listen to his offer of love and become his one family: in the one Christ, we are one."

 

  "This is the path to follow together, among ourselves but also with our sister Christian churches, with those who follow other religious paths, with those who are searching for God, with all women and men of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns!   This is the missionary  spirit that must animate us; not closing ourselves off in our small groups, nor feeling superior to the world."

 

  "We are called to offer God’s love to everyone, in order to achieve that unity which does not cancel out differences but values the personal history of each person and the social and religious culture of every people."

 

 In the homily the new leader of the Roman Catholic church expounded his humble vision of his mission on St Peter's throne.

 "It is as if Jesus said to him, “Only if you have known and experienced this love of God, which never fails, will you be able to feed my lambs.  Only in the love of God the Father will you be able to love your brothers and sisters with that same ‘more’, that is, by offering your life for your brothers and sisters.”  

 

 "Peter is thus entrusted with the task of “loving more” and giving his life for the flock.  The ministry of Peter is distinguished precisely by this self-sacrificing love, because the Church of Rome presides in charity and its true authority is the charity of Christ."

 

  "It is never a question of capturing others by force, by religious propaganda or by means of power.  Instead, it is always and only a question of loving as Jesus did."  

 "The Apostle Peter himself tells us that Jesus “is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, and has become the cornerstone” ...

 

 "Moreover, if the rock is Christ, Peter must shepherd the flock without ever yielding to the temptation to be an autocrat, lording it over those entrusted to him (cf. 1 Pet 5:3).  On the contrary, he is called to serve the faith of his brothers and sisters, and to walk alongside them, for all of us are “living stones” (1 Pet 2:5), called through our baptism to build God’s house in fraternal communion, in the harmony of the Spirit, in the coexistence of diversity."

 

 "In the words  of  Saint Augustine:  'The Church  consists of  all those  who  are in  harmony  with their brothers and sisters and who love their neighbour” (Serm. 359,9).'

 

 "Brothers and sisters, this is the hour for love!  The heart of the Gospel is the love of God that makes us brothers and sisters.  With my predecessor Leo XIII, we can ask ourselves today: If this criterion “were to prevail in the world, would not every conflict cease and peace return?” (Rerum Novarum, 21).   With the light and the strength of the Holy Spirit, let us build a Church founded on God’s love, a sign of unity, a missionary Church that opens its arms to the world, proclaims the word, allows itself to be made “restless” by history, and becomes a leaven of harmony for humanity."

 

 "Together, as one people, as brothers and sisters, let us walk towards God and love one another."

 After the Mass the pontiff in his second weekly Regina Caeli address called for peace in "Gaza, for the children, the families, the old people reduced to hunger," in Myanamar and noted that "martyred Ukraine waits negotiations at last for a just and lasting peace" with Russia.

 

 jp