Pope Leo XIV says "it is not the Church that attracts but Christ, and if a Christian or an ecclesial community attracts it is because through...Charity" FULL TEXT to the DDF
FULL TEXT ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE LEO XIV
TO THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE PLENARY SESSION
OF THE DICASTERY FOR THE DOCTRINE OF THE FAITH
Clementine Hall on Thursday, January 29, 2026
______________________________
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.
Peace be with you.
Good morning and welcome! Your Eminences,
dear brothers in the episcopate,
dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to welcome you on the occasion of your Plenary Session. I cordially greet and thank the Prefect of the Dicastery, along with the Superiors and Officials. I am well aware of the precious service you perform, with the aim – as the Constitution Praedicate Evangelium states – of "assisting the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops in proclaiming the Gospel throughout the world, promoting and safeguarding the integrity of Catholic doctrine on faith and morals, drawing from the deposit of faith and seeking an ever deeper understanding of it in the face of new questions" (n. 69).
Your task is to offer clarifications regarding the doctrine of the Church, through pastoral and theological indications regarding often very sensitive issues. To this end, in the last two years the Dicastery has published several documents; I recall the principal ones: the Nota Gestis verbisque , on the validity of the Sacraments (2 February 2024), which offered clear instructions for resolving doubtful cases relating to their administration; the Declaration Dignitas infinita , on human dignity (2 April 2024), which reaffirmed the infinite dignity of every human being, today gravely endangered, in particular by ongoing wars and by an economy that puts profit first; the Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena (17 May 2024), which have made it possible to resolve cases relating to such events, including that pertaining to the spiritual experience of Medjugorje, to which the Nota The Queen of Peace (19 September 2024) was specifically dedicated ; the Nota Antiqua et nova , prepared in collaboration with the Dicastery for Culture and Education (28 January 2025), which offers a broad and precise consideration of the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence; the Doctrinal Note Mater Populi fidelis , on some Marian titles referring to Mary's cooperation in the work of salvation (4 November 2025), which encourages popular Marian devotion, exploring its biblical and theological foundations, and at the same time offers precise and important clarifications for Mariology; finally, the Doctrinal Note Una caro. Elogio della monogamia , on the value of marriage as an exclusive union and mutual belonging (25 November 2025), which explores in an original way the property of the unity of marriage between a man and a woman.
This work will certainly greatly benefit the spiritual growth of the holy and faithful People of God. In the context of epochal change we are experiencing, it offers the faithful a prompt and clear voice from the Church, especially regarding the many new phenomena appearing on the historical scene. It also provides valuable guidance to Bishops for the exercise of their pastoral ministry, as well as to theologians in their service of study and evangelization.
I particularly appreciate the fact that in this "Plenary" you have initiated a fruitful discussion on the theme of the transmission of the faith, a matter of great urgency in our time. We cannot, in fact, "ignore the fact that, in recent decades, a rupture has occurred in the generational transmission of the Christian faith among the Catholic people" [1] and that, especially in contexts of ancient evangelization, the number of those who no longer perceive the Gospel as a fundamental resource for their existence is increasing, especially among the new generations. Indeed, there are many young men and women who live without any reference to God and the Church and, if on the one hand this causes pain in us believers, on the other it must lead us to rediscover the "sweet and comforting joy of evangelizing", [2] which is at the very heart of the life and mission of the Bride of Christ.
As I recalled on the occasion of the recent Extraordinary Consistory, we "want to be a Church that does not look only at itself, that is missionary, that looks further afield, at others"; [3] a Church that proclaims the Gospel, above all through the power of attraction, as my predecessors Benedict XVI and Francis have reiterated several times . [4]
The foundation of the life of the Body of Christ is the love of the Father, revealed to us in the Son made man, present and working in us through the gift of the Spirit: therefore "it is not the Church that attracts but Christ, and if a Christian or an ecclesial community attracts it is because through that "channel" comes the vital lymph of Charity that flows from the Heart of the Savior". [5]
The Church announces Christ, without protagonism or particularism, and in it each person is and must always and only recognize himself as "a simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord". [6]
Before concluding, I would like to mention another service of yours, for which I am grateful and which I commend to your care: that of welcoming and accompanying, with all benevolence and judgment, the Bishops and Superiors General called to handle cases of crimes reserved to the Dicastery. This is a very delicate area of ministry, in which it is essential to ensure that the demands of justice, truth, and charity are always honored and respected.
Dearest ones, finally, I renew my thanks to each of you for the precious contribution you make to the life and work of the Dicastery and the entire Church, especially when that contribution is offered in a humble and unobtrusive manner. A sign of this gratitude is the Apostolic Blessing that I heartily impart to all of you and your loved ones. Thank you.
[1] Francis, Exhortation. ap. Evangelii gaudium (24 November 2013), 70.
[2] Cf. St. Paul VI, Exhortation. ap. Evangelii nuntiandi (8 December 1975), 80; cit. in Francis, Exhortation. ap. Evangelii gaudium (24 November 2013), 10.
[3] Words "off the cuff" at the end of the first session of the Extraordinary Consistory , 8 January 2026.
[4] Cf. Benedict XVI, Homily at the Holy Mass for the Inauguration of the Fifth General Conference of the Latin American and Caribbean Bishops (13 May 2007); Francis, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (24 November 2013), 14.
[5] Speech on the occasion of the extraordinary Consistory (7 January 2026).
[6] Benedict XVI, Apostolic Blessing “Urbi et orbi” and first greeting (19 April 2005).
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