{"id":117200,"date":"2025-08-08T15:14:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-08T13:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/?p=117200"},"modified":"2025-08-08T15:14:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-08T13:14:08","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-that-societies-not-succumb-to-the-temptation-of-confrontation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasalle.org\/en\/pope-leo-xiv-that-societies-not-succumb-to-the-temptation-of-confrontation\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV: \u201cThat societies not succumb to the temptation of confrontation\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In The Pope Video for August, Pope Leo XIV requests our prayers \u201cFor mutual coexistence\u201d, that societies avoid internal conflicts due to ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons. The Pope encourages us to \u201cseek paths of dialogue\u201d and \u201crespond to conflict with gestures of fraternity.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As usual, the Pope has chosen a\u00a0<\/span>theme that poses a timely challenge for humanity and for the Church\u2019s mission:\u00a0<\/b>conflict within our societies. Hence, he asks the faithful to pray \u201cthat societies where coexistence seems more difficult might not succumb to the temptation of confrontation for ethnic, political, religious or ideological reasons.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In the video<\/b>\u00a0produced this month in collaboration with\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>Jesuit Communications Foundation (JesCom)<\/b><\/a>,\u00a0<\/span>Pope Leo XIV recites a prayer composed specifically for this August intention\u00a0<\/b>by his\u00a0<\/span>Worldwide Prayer Network<\/b><\/a>. The images that accompany his words create a montage of the divisions present in the world: wars, confrontation and violence that cause destruction, force people to flee their own land, and contribute to existential loneliness.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is, however, a\u00a0<\/span>final message of hope entrusted to young people<\/b>, who will be celebrating the\u00a0<\/span>Jubilee of Youth that coincides with the launch\u00a0<\/b>of this edition of\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/b>The Pope Video<\/b><\/a>. In fact, hope for a better future depends on young people knowing how to build fraternal communities, are welcoming of one another and their differences, and who open their hearts and place themselves at the service of others.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

Respectful and compassionate coexistence<\/b><\/h2><\/div>

The Pope\u2019s prayer describes what is actually happening: \u201cWe live in times of fear and division. Sometimes we act as if we were alone, building walls that separate us from one another.\u201d We only need to glance at the news on any given day to confirm that in addition to international conflicts, numerous conflicts are originating within communities because of the exacerbation of political, religious, ethnic, and other types of differences.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the root of this phenomenon is the\u00a0<\/span>disregard of a fundamental truth: that we are all brothers and sisters, children of the same Father.\u00a0<\/b>And so the Pope continues, \u201cSend us Your Spirit, Lord, to rekindle within us the desire to understand one another, to listen, to live together with respect and compassion.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

To overcome differences in ideologies, it is precisely <\/span>looking at others \u201cthrough the eyes of the heart\u201d\u00a0<\/b>that allows us to recognize the inviolable dignity of every person and to have the courage to \u201c<\/span>seek paths of dialogue, to respond to conflict with gestures of fraternity.\u201d\u00a0<\/b>Openness to others without being afraid of their differences allows us to discover that they are not threats but \u201ca richness that makes us human.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>