Vatican City (AsiaNews) – With a “heavy heart”, Leo XIV is following reports of “violent attacks” by Russia targeting cities and infrastructure in Ukraine. These attacks are leading to the deaths of “innocent people”. The Pope himself made this statement this morning after reciting the Angelus, as he looked out from the window of the Vatican Apostolic Palace. “My heart is with the suffering people, who have been living in anguish and fear for years,” he said before thousands of faithful gathered in St Peter’s Square under the sun.
A call for dialogue and peace
The Pope then issued a heartfelt and urgent appeal “to put an end to the violence, to halt the destruction, and to open hearts to dialogue and peace”. “I hope that the efforts undertaken in recent days to resume negotiations will bear concrete fruit and pave the way for diplomacy,” he added. Meanwhile, US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner are in Kyiv to pursue a new US diplomatic initiative, following more than three hours of talks at the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
During his Sunday address, the Pope emphasised the importance of prayer: “Let us raise our prayers to the Lord, that harmony may prevail in all the world’s conflicts.” After the Angelus, he also reflected on the return to normal life following the summer break: “Let us ask the Lord to accompany us and sustain us with his light”.
Commentary on the Gospel
As usual, before reciting the Marian prayer, Leo XIV read the commentary on the Gospel of the day (Mt 18:15–20). In this passage from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says to his disciples: “For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Today’s Word, said the Pope, “offers some fundamental criteria for thought and action”.
“All the attention, care and goodness we have received make us freer and more capable of taking on responsibility.” The Pope recalled the “debt we owe one another”, which is not material and which is emphasised both by Saint Paul and in the Lord’s Prayer: “the debt of mutual love”. Indeed, Jesus teaches the “forgiveness of debts”.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains to his disciples “two ways of practising mutual love”. The first: “Becoming capable of fraternal correction”. “It is a delicate art, all too often forgotten, which requires frankness and a gradual approach”, explained Prevost. “It means facing reality and transforming problems and conflicts into opportunities for growth”.
The second way is “to get along”. “Not only when there is a conflict, but also to ask God for a gift,” he specified. “Without faith, everyone might feel alone and suspicious of others, seeing them as strangers and enemies. By grace, however, we are brothers and sisters who can get along: meeting one another, forgiving one another and listening to one another in the Lord.”
