Peru: Pope encourages church leaders and academics to always work in the light of faith

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Source: Vatican Media

Pope Leo XIV continued preaching on the need for Catholics, clergy and lay people, to form a missionary church in service of shared values, inclusion, communication and a shared journey, to spread the Gospel through word and deed, during his third day in Peru in the diocese of Chiclayo, where he served as a Bishop for eight years.

In addresses to priests and religious and later to students at Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo Catholic University, he emphasised the need to see opportunities in the light of faith. Defending human dignity, accompanying families, young people, migrants, indigenous people and those facing poverty and committing to justice, peace and the common good are not optional for Catholics, he said: "they are requirements of an ecclesial mission".

Continuing the theme of courageous compassion that informed his inaugural homily after his election as pontiff a year and a half ago, Pope Leo emphasised the importance of a synodal church to members of the hierarchy and 5,000 people who filled the streets of Avenida Elías Aguirre at the Shrine of Our Lady of Peace in Chiclayo, Meeting with Clergy and Parish Councils.

Taken from the Greek Concept of 'walking together' and promoted with passion by his predecessor Pope Francis, this means a church life where as members, from laypeople to church leaders, journey side-by-side as people of God. Instead of a strictly top-down approach where decisions flow from bishops to the laity, a synodal church emphasises listening to everyone, sharing ideas, and praying together.

"Brothers and sisters," he said "I encourage you to increasingly discover the beauty of being synodal communities….by ensuring that each person can offer his or her own contribution, like living stones of a spiritual edifice.

"From this perspective, authority within the Church must be exercised as a service, discernment, and valorisation of charisms and initiatives, since the participation of the laity is not a concession, but an expression of their baptismal dignity".

At its core, he continued, Catholics' bond with Christ is cemented in Baptism: "Before any service, assignment, profession, or ministry, we are baptised. Our primary identity is that of sons and daughters of God and members of his People. As baptised persons, we all participate in Christ's priesthood and his prophetic mission; therefore, the entire community is co-responsible for evangelisation".

The Pope described such a church life as communal and pastoral and one not without challenges that requires everyone to look at their own attitudes and behaviours, starting with pastors, "the primary servants of the community." And he encouraged the revitalisation of pastoral councils to help listen to communities, understand their reality, discern priorities and formulate "more appropriate" responses.

The Holy Father brought a similar message in his next meeting with 6,000 student, faculty leaders and observers at Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo University. He urged them to create an atmosphere of genuine encounter in their studies and research, creating a space for genuine intellectual inquiry rather than a place that produces a skilled workforce for an exclusive and highly competitive market.

In a thinly veiled comment on the current AI race for technological dominance backed by turbo charged, rich technology companies in the US and China, Pope Leo said a university should be a space where intelligence doesn't bow to utility "but serves truth faithfully."

His visit to the university marked his first return to the institution he served as grand chancellor before his election as pope. The institution is named for St Turibius of Mogroveja, a 16th Century Spanish missionary and first archbishop of Lima who defended the rights of Indigenous and enslaved people and promoted the use of indigenous languages in evangelisation.

Leaning into his particular devotion to the saint, Pope Leo spoke of the saint's cultural work as an inspiration for students and faculty at the Catholic University.

"A university modelled on his example is called to use scientific innovation to bridge social divides and heal society's wounds", he added warning of ideological currents that claim technology will eliminate aging, pain and potentially death and a culture of scientific progress as privilege for "millionaires seeking immortality while entire populations suffer poverty and oppression"

A university based on work of St Turibius he contended would help in dispelling "the mirage", and what he called the myth of self sufficiency linked to the rampant unfettered progress of technology which locks humans in selfishness and could lead to discarding the weak.

Christian anthropology, he continued, "reminds us that a limitation is not a manufacturing defect, but rather the very condition of human grandeur. Recognising our fragility makes us attentive to the needs of all."

Calling for the professors of the university to guide their students to be free thinkers in search of truth and justice over opinion and self-interest, he also urged them to seek wisdom among colleagues and in Peruvian society, translating their scientific skills into works of social justice for the benefit of the poorest and in care of God's creation.

"Catholic universities therefore have a duty to remind the public and political world that science without conscience ruins everyone's lives. Technology, dear friends, is never neutral: every form of it bears the imprint, interests, and ambitions of those who design and control it. Therefore, it must be studied with a clear mind and a pure heart."

Watch videos from Vatican Media youtube channel:

Chiclayo, Meeting with Clergy and Parish Councils: www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZ5q3llh2dQ

Meeting at Saint Turibius of Mogrovejo Catholic University : www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7CjZlA4WXc