Pope Leo XIV has urged Catholic politicians to defend natural law and resist “party directives” that conflict with Christian truth, warning that values emptied of Christ are powerless to transform society.
Addressing French Catholic elected officials and civic leaders from the Diocese of Créteil, who were in Rome on pilgrimage for the Holy Year, the Pope stressed that Catholic politicians must not separate their faith from their public duties.
“There is not on one side the politician, and on the other the Christian,” he told them. “There is only the politician who, under the gaze of God and his conscience, lives out his commitments in a Christian manner.”
The Holy Father encouraged officials to deepen their knowledge of Catholic social teaching, which he described as “fundamentally in harmony with human nature” and accessible even to non-believers. He emphasised that Christianity extends beyond private devotion to every dimension of life—family, labour, education, culture, and politics.
Acknowledging the pressures faced by public figures in Western societies where the Church is often “marginalized, ignored, and sometimes ridiculed,” Pope Leo said politicians must have the courage to say “No, I cannot” when confronted with policies that contradict the truth. He cautioned that ideological conformity leads only to moral compromise.
“Only union with Jesus—Jesus crucified—will give you the courage to suffer for His name,” the Pope concluded, entrusting the delegation and their country to Our Lady of the Assumption before imparting his Apostolic Blessing.
