Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Pope Leo XIV today received in audience in the Vatican members of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), an association created in 1947 by a Dutch priest, Father Werenfried van Straaten, to help persecuted Christians. Now a pontifical foundation, ACN is active in 140 countries around the world.
In his address, the pontiff stressed that religious freedom “is not merely a legal right or a privilege granted to us by governments; it is a foundational condition that makes authentic reconciliation possible.”
In fact, “our world,” said Leo XIV speaking to the ACN delegation meeting in Rome for the jubilee pilgrimage, “continues to witness rising hostility and violence against those who hold different convictions, including many Christians. In contrast, your mission proclaims that, as one family in Christ, we do not abandon our persecuted brothers and sisters.”
The Holy Father noted the importance of the right to religious freedom not only for believers, but for society as a whole.
“[T]he right to religious freedom is not optional but essential. Rooted in the dignity of the human person, created in God’s image and endowed with reason and free will, religious freedom allows individuals and communities to seek the truth, to live it freely, and to bear witness to it openly. It is therefore a cornerstone of any just society, for it safeguards the moral space in which conscience may be formed and exercised.”
“When this freedom is denied, the human person is deprived of the capacity to respond freely to the call of truth. What follows is a slow disintegration of the ethical and spiritual bonds that sustain communities; trust gives way to fear, suspicion replaces dialogue, and oppression breeds violence.”
Leo XIV noted how this very message was one of the last things his predecessor Pope Francis cited in his Urbi et Orbi message on Easter Sunday, the day before his death.
For Francis, “there can be no peace without freedom of religion, freedom of thought, freedom of expression and respect for the views of others”. Indeed, “The defence of religious freedom, then, cannot remain abstract; it must be lived, protected and promoted in the daily lives of individuals and communities,” Leo added.
This is precisely where the commitment of the ACN International comes in, for “its mission from the beginning has been to foster forgiveness and reconciliation, and to accompany and give a voice to the Church wherever she is in need, wherever she is threatened, wherever she suffers.”
Leo XIV specifically cited ACN’s "Report on Religious Freedom in the World," which the foundation has been publishing for 25 years, a tool, he observed, that “does more than provide information; it bears witness, gives voice to the voiceless, and reveals the hidden suffering of many.”
The pontiff also mentioned the foundation’s actual work in support of Catholic communities that are isolated, marginalised, or under pressure in many parts of the world.
“Wherever Aid to the Church in Need rebuilds a chapel, supports a religious sister, or provides for a radio station or a vehicle, you strengthen the life of the Church, as well as the spiritual and moral fabric of society. And as I am sure you are aware, your organization has helped many of the missions in Peru, including in the Dioceses of Chiclayo, where I was privileged to serve,” Leo explained, citing the years of his episcopal ministry in Latin America.
Even when they are small and vulnerable minorities, the pope noted, Christians can be peacemakers. “In countries such as the Central Africa Republic, Burkina Faso and Mozambique, the local Church – often sustained by your help – becomes a living sign of social harmony and fraternity, showing their neighbours that a different world is possible”.
