{"id":72523,"date":"2026-01-16T05:44:50","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T05:44:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/?p=72523"},"modified":"2026-01-16T05:44:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T05:44:50","slug":"pope-leo-xiv-urges-a-more-missionary-roman-curia-and-warns-against-internal-divisions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/nl\/learn\/pope-leo-xiv-urges-a-more-missionary-roman-curia-and-warns-against-internal-divisions\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Leo XIV urges a 'more missionary' Roman Curia and warns against internal divisions"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n Pope Leo XIV addresses officials of the Roman Curia at the Vatican on December 22, 2025. \/ Vatican Media (screenshot)<\/span>\n<\/div>\n

Vatican City, Dec 22, 2025 \/ 06:25 am (CNA).<\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV on Monday called on officials of the Roman Curia to deepen both mission and communion, urging Vatican offices to be \u201cmore mission-oriented\u201d and cautioning against the \u201cforces of division\u201d that can take root even \u201cbeneath an apparent calm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking during his annual Christmas greetings with personnel of the Church\u2019s central administration, the pope also paid tribute to Pope Francis, whom he described as his \u201cbeloved predecessor\u201d who \u201cthis year concluded his earthly life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo said Francis\u2019 \u201cprophetic voice, pastoral style and rich magisterium\u201d encouraged the Church \u201cto place God\u2019s mercy at the center, to give renewed impetus to evangelization, and to be a joyful Church, welcoming to all and attentive to the poorest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Drawing on Pope Francis\u2019 apostolic exhortation \u201cEvangelii Gaudium,\u201d Leo focused his address on what he called \u201ctwo fundamental aspects of the Church\u2019s life: mission and communion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBy her very nature, the Church is outward-looking, turned toward the world, missionary,\u201d the pope said, adding that the Church exists to invite people into \u201cthe good news of God\u2019s love.\u201d<\/p>\n

He insisted that ecclesial structures should serve evangelization rather than slow it down. \u201cStructures must not weigh down or slow the progress of the Gospel or hinder the dynamism of evangelization; instead, we must \u2018make them more mission-oriented,\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Applying that principle directly to Vatican governance, the pope said: \u201cWe need an ever more missionary Roman Curia, in which institutions, offices and tasks are conceived in light of today\u2019s major ecclesial, pastoral and social challenges, and not merely to ensure ordinary administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo said the mystery of Christmas highlights not only the mission of the Son of God but also the purpose of that mission: reconciliation and a new kind of fraternity. \u201cChristmas reminds us that Jesus came to reveal the true face of God as Father, so that we might all become his children and therefore brothers and sisters to one another,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The pope warned that communion within the Church requires ongoing conversion, especially when tensions arise in workplaces and debates about doctrine and practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt times, beneath an apparent calm, forces of division may be at play,\u201d he said. He cautioned against \u201cswinging between two opposite extremes: uniformity that fails to value differences, or the exacerbation of differences and viewpoints instead of seeking communion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such patterns, he said, can lead to \u201crigidity or ideology\u201d and the conflicts that follow.<\/p>\n

Yet, he continued, Christians are united in Christ even amid real diversity. \u201cAnd in Christ, though many and diverse, we are one: In Illo uno unum,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Leo called Curia officials in particular to be \u201cbuilders of Christ\u2019s communion,\u201d emphasizing a synodal Church in which \u201call cooperate in the same mission, each according to his or her charism and role.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pope acknowledged that long years of service can leave some Vatican employees disheartened by workplace dynamics, including \u201cthe exercise of power,\u201d \u201cthe desire to prevail,\u201d or \u201cthe pursuit of personal interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

He posed the question directly: \u201cIs it possible to be friends in the Roman Curia? To have relationships of genuine fraternal friendship?\u201d He said it is \u201ca grace to find trustworthy friends, where masks fall away,\u201d where \u201cno one is used or sidelined,\u201d and where each person\u2019s \u201cworth and competence are respected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Such relationships, he said, require personal conversion so that \u201cChrist\u2019s love\u201d can be visible.<\/p>\n

The pope also linked internal communion to the Church\u2019s public witness in a world marked by violence and polarization. He said this conversion becomes a sign \u201cad extra\u201d in \u201ca world wounded by discord, violence and conflict,\u201d where there is \u201ca growth in aggression and anger,\u201d often \u201cexploited by both the digital sphere and politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDear brothers and sisters, mission and communion are possible if we place Christ at the center,\u201d Leo said.<\/p>\n

He also pointed to the significance of the Church\u2019s current Jubilee year, saying it underscores that Christ \u201calone is the hope that does not disappoint.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pope referenced two major anniversaries marked this year: the Council of Nicaea, which he said returns the Church \u201cto the roots of our faith,\u201d and the Second Vatican Council, which \u201cstrengthened the Church and sent her forth to engage the modern world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leo closed by recalling the 50th anniversary of St. Paul VI\u2019s apostolic exhortation \u201cEvangelii Nuntiandi,\u201d highlighting its emphasis that evangelization belongs to the whole Church and that the first means of evangelization is the witness of an authentically Christian life.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us remember this also in our curial service: the work of each is important for the whole, and the witness of a Christian life, expressed in communion, is the first and greatest service we can offer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Quoting Lutheran pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer on the humility of God revealed at Christmas, Leo prayed that the Lord would grant the Curia \u201chis own humility, his compassion and his love,\u201d and he concluded by wishing all present \u201ca holy Christmas\u201d and asking God to \u201cgrant peace to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the close of the exchange of greetings, Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of Cardinals, offered Christmas wishes on behalf of Curia offices, the Vatican City State Governorate, and the Diocese of Rome, and the pope presented curial personnel with a copy of The Practice of the Presence of God, the spiritual classic he has recently recommended.<\/p>\n

Dit verhaal werd <\/em><\/strong>voor het eerst gepubliceerd <\/em><\/strong><\/a>door ACI Stampa, de Italiaanstalige nieuwspartner van CNA. Het is vertaald en bewerkt door CNA.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.catholicnewsagency.com\/news\/268625\/pope-leo-xiv-urges-a-more-missionary-roman-curia-and-warns-against-internal-divisions<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Paus Leo XIV spreekt ambtenaren van de Romeinse Curie toe in het Vaticaan op 22 december 2025. \/ Vatican Media (screenshot) Vaticaanstad, 22 dec. 2025 \/ 06:25 uur (CNA). Paus Leo XIV riep maandag ambtenaren van de Romeinse Curie op om zowel de missie als de gemeenschap te verdiepen, en drong er bij Vaticaanse kantoren op aan om \u201cmeer missiegericht\u201d te zijn en [\u2026]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":75249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"series":[],"class_list":["post-72523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-news"],"mb":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/christianpure.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Pope-Leo-XIV-urges-a-039more-missionary039-Roman-Curia-and-warns-against-internal-divisions.webp?fit=800%2C608&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":68253,"url":"https:\/\/christianpure.com\/nl\/learn\/pope-leo-xiv-celebrates-mass-in-suffrage-for-deceased-prelates\/","url_meta":{"origin":72523,"position":0},"title":"Pope Leo XIV celebrates Mass in suffrage for deceased prelates","author":"Christian Pure Team","date":"november 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Pope Leo XIV leads the Church\u2019s commemoration for his papal predecessor and 142 other bishops who died in the past year on Nov. 3, 2025, in St. Peter\u2019s Basilica at the Vatican. \/ Credit: Vatican Media Vatican City, Nov 3, 2025 \/ 11:04 am (CNA). 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