VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV said Scripture is meant to speak directly to believers in today's world, emphasizing that the Bible is the word of God expressed through human authors during his weekly general audience.

"In every age, the Church is called to re-propose the Word of God in a language capable of being embodied in history and reaching hearts," he said Feb. 4. 

He warned that when Scripture “loses touch with reality, with human hopes and sufferings,” or is proclaimed in language that is “incomprehensible, uncommunicative or anachronistic,” it becomes "ineffective."

Continuing his catechesis series on Vatican II, the pope said the Bible is not a relic of the past but a living dialogue meant to lead people to know and love God. God chose to communicate through his people, demonstrating his mercy and desire to be close to humanity, the pope said.

Citing the Second Vatican Council’s document "Dei Verbum," the pope said, "the words of God, expressed in human language, have been made like human discourse, just as the word of the eternal Father, when he took to himself the flesh of human weakness, was in every way made like men."

It is important to note, he said, that while God is the principal author of Scripture, human beings were also "true authors," not simply passive "scribes" sharing God's words, the pope said, "God never mortifies human beings and their potential!"

He also warned against reading Scripture as though it had no divine origin and were only a relic of the past.

"While Scripture is a text rooted in historical truth, it also contains a limitless spiritual depth that speaks to people of all times and places, communicating above all God’s love and his desire to save us," the pope said. 

Pope Leo said that God, "in his goodness, ensures our lives do not lack the essential nourishment of his word, and let us pray that our words, and even more so our lives, do not obscure the love of God that is narrated in them."

In an appeal he made at the end of the audience, the pope said a prayer for the people of Ukraine, who have endured frequent bombing recently, further impacting their access to power. He also acknowledged that a new START treaty between the United States and Russia was expected to be signed Feb. 5, which would curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons. 

Sharing his hope that the treaty be renewed, Pope Leo said in Italian, "I call on you to not let this instrument collapse without trying to guarantee a concrete and effective follow-up. The current situation requires us to do everything possible to break free from a new race of arms that further threatens peace between nations." 

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During his weekly General Audience, Pope Leo XIV warns against "fundamentalist or spiritualist readings" of Scripture, and upholds the Church's mission to proclaim the Word of God in language that touches human hearts.

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VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Pope Leo XIV praised consecrated men and women for going to the world's peripheries and refusing to abandon their people, even amid conflict.

"They remain, often stripped of all security, as a living reminder -- more eloquent than words -- of the inviolable sacredness of life in its most vulnerable conditions," he said Feb. 2 in his homily for Candlemas -- the feast of the Presentation of the Lord -- which also marks the Catholic Church's celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life.

"Even where weapons roar and arrogance, self-interest and violence seem to prevail," he said, the presence of these consecrated men and women "proclaims the words of Jesus" in his parable of the lost sheep: "See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for ... their angels in heaven always look upon the face of my heavenly Father."

The pope's Mass began with the pope blessing with holy water the candles used for the entrance procession. Dozens of consecrated men and women led the candlelit procession while the lights in St. Peter's Basilica remained dimmed, and thousands of people who filled the basilica held lit candles as well. 

After the darkened basilica was filled with light, Pope Leo, who joined the Order of St. Augustine as a young man and served as a missionary in Peru for decades, reflected on the mission of religious men and women in the Church and in the world.

"Dear brothers and sisters, the Church asks you to be prophets -- messengers who announce the presence of the Lord and prepare the way for him," he said in his homily. "You are called to this mission above all through the sacrificial offering of your lives, rooted in prayer and in a readiness to be consumed by charity," he said.

Docile to the action of the Holy Spirit, the founders and foundresses of their religious orders and communities offer "wonderful models of how to fulfil this mandate faithfully and effectively," he said.

"Living in constant tension between earth and heaven, they allowed themselves to be guided with faith and courage," he said. Some founders "were led to the silence of the cloister, others to the demands of the apostolate," but all of them returned "humbly and wisely, to the foot of the cross and to the tabernacle, where they offered everything and discovered in God both the source and the goal of all their actions." 

Pope Leo highlighted those founders who "embarked on perilous undertakings."

"They became a prayerful presence in hostile or indifferent environments; a generous hand and a friendly shoulder amid degradation and abandonment; and witnesses of peace and reconciliation in situations marked by violence and hatred," he said. "They were ready to bear the consequences of going against the current, becoming, in Christ, a 'sign of contradiction,' sometimes even to the point of martyrdom."

One way to honor these brothers and sisters, he said, is "by carrying forward their legacy." 

"You are called to bear witness to God's saving presence in history for all peoples, even within a society in which false and reductive understandings of the human person increasingly widen the gap between faith and life," he said.

"You are called to testify that the young, the elderly, the poor, the sick and the imprisoned hold a sacred place above all else on God's altar and in his heart," he said, and to show how each of the least is "an inviolable sanctuary of God's presence, before whom we must bend our knee, in order to encounter him, adore him and give him glory."

Many religious communities have established "outposts of the Gospel ... in a wide variety of challenging contexts, even in the midst of conflict," he said. "These communities do not abandon their people, nor do they flee" as they seek to uphold the sacredness of human life in its most vulnerable conditions. 

"Consecrated life, in its serene detachment from all that is passing, reveals the inseparable bond between authentic care for earthly realities and a hope filled with love for what is eternal" and gives meaning to everything else, he said.

Through their promise to follow Christ more closely by professing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience, consecrated men and women "empty" themselves so that Christ, "the one eternal messenger of the covenant who remains present among humanity today, can melt and purify hearts with his love, grace and mercy," Pope Leo said.

Through this self-emptying and life in the Spirit, he said, consecrated men and women "can show the world the way to overcome conflict, sowing fraternity through the freedom of those who love and forgive without measure."

"Dear consecrated men and women, today the Church gives thanks to the Lord and to you for your presence," he said, encouraging them "to be leaven of peace and signs of hope wherever Providence may lead you."

WASHINGTON — “Let us be faithful stewards of memory. Let us be courageous witnesses to truth,” said Bishop Daniel E. Garcia, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, and Bishop Roy E. Campbell, chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee on African American Affairs, marking 100 years of commemorating Black history in the United States.

Their statement is as follows:

“This February marks one hundred years of commemorating Black history in the United States. This milestone is an opportunity for us to prayerfully reflect on the ways history has been preserved, honored, and passed on across generations. In Open Wide Our Hearts, the U.S. bishops’ pastoral letter against racism, we recognized that the lived experience of the vast majority of African Americans bears the marks of our country’s original sin of racism. During this year’s observance of Black History Month, we encourage the faithful to consider the lessons of history, honoring our heroes of the past and learning from the mistakes of the past. Although we may at times encounter people or situations in our country that seek to erase ‘memory’ from our minds and books, it can never be erased from our hearts. May our reflections strengthen our faith and communities. Let us be faithful stewards of memory. Let us be courageous witnesses to truth. Let us pray and work to honor the inherent dignity of every person and the sacred stories of every people.”

Read more from Bishop Garcia and Bishop Campbell in their reflection, “The Treasures of Memory.”

For more information about the Subcommittee on African American Affairs and the Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, please visit their respective webpages.

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