Pope Leo XIV holds protection of minors 'deep in his heart'
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Pope Leo XIV prays during a Mass at Sant'Anselmo Church, located at a Benedictine monastery on the Aventine Hill in Rome, on Nov. 11, 2025. / Credit: Vatican MediaACI Prensa Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV sent a message Nov. 17 to participants in the meeting for "Building Communities that Protect Dignity," promoted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.The Holy Father said that efforts to build communities where the dignity of minors and the most vulnerable is protected and promoted are a matter that he holds "deep in his heart."The pontiff explained that "dignity is a gift from God" and that it is not something obtained through merit or force but rather "a gift that precedes us: It is born from the loving gaze with which God has loved us individually and continues to love us.""In every human face, even when marked by weariness or pain, there is a reflection of the Creator's goodness, a light that no darkness can extinguish," he affirmed.T...
Pope Leo XIV prays during a Mass at Sant'Anselmo Church, located at a Benedictine monastery on the Aventine Hill in Rome, on Nov. 11, 2025. / Credit: Vatican Media
ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 17, 2025 / 14:35 pm (CNA).
Pope Leo XIV sent a message Nov. 17 to participants in the meeting for "Building Communities that Protect Dignity," promoted by the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors.
The Holy Father said that efforts to build communities where the dignity of minors and the most vulnerable is protected and promoted are a matter that he holds "deep in his heart."
The pontiff explained that "dignity is a gift from God" and that it is not something obtained through merit or force but rather "a gift that precedes us: It is born from the loving gaze with which God has loved us individually and continues to love us."
"In every human face, even when marked by weariness or pain, there is a reflection of the Creator's goodness, a light that no darkness can extinguish," he affirmed.
The pope thus emphasized that "by taking responsibility for the lives of others, we learn true freedom, the kind that does not dominate but serves, that does not possess but accompanies."
"Consecrated life, an expression of the total gift of oneself to Christ, is called in a special way to be a welcoming home and a place of encounter and grace," he underscored.
The pope therefore affirmed that "whoever follows the Lord on the path of chastity, poverty, and obedience discovers that authentic love is born from the recognition of one's own limitations: from knowing that we are loved even in our weakness, and it is precisely this that enables us to love others with respect, tenderness, and a free heart."
In this regard, he emphasized the purpose of the meeting: "to share experiences and paths taken in learning how to prevent all forms of abuse and how to be accountable, with truth and humility, for the processes of protection undertaken."
He also urged the participants "to continue with this commitment so that communities become ever more examples of trust and dialogue, where every person is respected, listened to, and valued."
"Where justice is lived with mercy, the wound is transformed into an opening for grace," the Holy Father said.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA's Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
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Pope Leo XIV addresses diocesan liturgy officials during an audience on Nov. 17, 2025, at the Apostolic Palace in the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican MediaVatican City, Nov 17, 2025 / 19:40 pm (CNA).Pope Leo XIV urged parishes to invest in liturgical formation, especially for lectors, while also encouraging people to pray the Liturgy of the Hours and calling for attention to be paid to popular piety.While receiving participants in a course organized by the Pontifical Liturgical Institute of St. Anselm in Rome at the Apostolic Palace for diocesan liturgical pastoral workers, the Holy Father said that "in the dioceses and parishes there is a need for such formation" and encouraged the creation of "biblical and liturgical courses" in places where such formation programs are lacking.Through such courses, the pope said the institute could help local churches and parish communities "to be formed by the word of God, explaining the texts of the weekday and feast day Lectionary."For the pope...
