Pope Leo XIV encourages Eastern rite Catholics to enrich the Church with its spiritual riches, and condemns the instability caused by war that forces Christians to flee their native lands.
By Devin Watkins
Pope Leo XIV met on Thursday with participants in the plenary session of the Reunion of Aid Agencies for the Oriental Churches (ROACO).
In his address, the Pope praised the meeting’s focus on the need to support the formation of priests and monks in Eastern seminaries.
He said the Eastern Catholic Churches have a great gift of spiritual riches to share with the universal Church, noting that formation of ministers remains essential for growth.
“Our Mother, the Church, is therefore united, yet not uniform,” said the Pope. “Her fertile womb has given birth to various spiritual and theological traditions, as well as different rites and disciplines, which enrich one another.”
The Eastern Churches lead Catholics back to the origins of the faith as their liturgies make the light of grace shine forth, he added.
However, he said, the Christian East can only be preserved if it is understood, which requires investment in formation, expressing his support for ROACO’s decision to help fund the cost of training future priests and deacons.
“This bond between knowledge and charity, between open minds and working hands, also requires, however, a spiritual dimension: a heart that is not only generous, but also filled with grace and set ablaze by the Holy Spirit,” he said.
Pope Leo XIV then turned to the heavy burden of war and instability brought about by “so many who foment wars.”
“While you generate life, they sow death,” he said. “While you reach out to your brother, they seek enemies to crush; while you create dialogue, they seek monologues; while you open paths of hope, they lock people into fear; while you build the future, they destroy the present.”
This contrast highlights that resources are channeled to those in need while others are wasted on killing, he said.
The Pope recalled the “painful exodus of Eastern Christians from their own lands, caused above all by war,” which only creates tragedies forgotten by the world.
“There is a plague, a scourge born of war, which I would like to speak about today, one that continues to drain the life blood of the Eastern Churches in particular,” he said. “I define it with a single word: instability.”
Even after a war has ended, he noted, societies remain scarred by the past through the presence of armed gangs, weakened institutions, and manipulative external influences.
“Such a system does not act freely, but instead navigates a maze of subterfuge, secret agreements and partisan interests,” he said. “As a result, a perpetual cycle of instability is created, stifling opportunities for development and always falling hardest on the poorest.”
Pope Leo added that this situation leaves people in precarious situations of employment that weigh most on ordinary families and young people.
Finally, the Pope appealed for everyone to reflect on the vast consequences of war and instability, including how violence often backfires on those who carry it out.
“Let us pray to Jesus, the Lord of peace,” he said, “and appeal to people’s consciences so that they may be moved by indignation; and may respect for humanity and a proper sense of civility be restored!”
