Pope Leo XIV Urges "full respect for humanitarian law" in Gaza

He made his remarks after leading a crowd in St. Peter’s Square in a recitation of the Angelus. Before the prayer, he offered a short catechesis on the Our Father.

“We cannot pray to God as ‘Father’ and then be harsh and insensitive towards others. Instead, it is important to let ourselves be transformed by his goodness, his patience, his mercy, so that his face may be reflected in ours as in a mirror,” he said.

The pope reflected on the day’s Gospel in which Jesus teaches his disciples the Our Father and explained that this passage “invites us, through prayer and charity, to feel loved and to love as God loves us: with openness, discretion, mutual concern, and without deceit.”

Leo also said that this part of the Gospel shows “the characteristics of God’s fatherhood” through evocative images such as “that of a man who gets up in the middle of the night to assist a friend in welcoming an unexpected visitor”; and also “that of a parent who is concerned about giving good things to his children.”

The pope explained that these images remind us that God “never turns his back on us when we come to him, even if we arrive late to knock at his door, perhaps after mistakes, missed opportunities, or failures.”

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In the great family of the Church, “the Father does not hesitate to make us all participants in each of his loving gestures,” Leo said.

He added: “The Lord always listens to us when we pray to him. If he sometimes responds in ways or at times that are difficult to understand, it is because he acts with wisdom and providence, which are beyond our understanding.”

Following the prayer, the pope greeted, among other groups, participants in the EWTN Summer Academy, an intensive training program in Catholic communication organized by EWTN News and aimed at young people between 21 and 35 years old with prior experience in digital content creation.

Leo also recalled that this Sunday marks the fifth World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly under the theme “Blessed Are Those Who Have Not Lost Hope.”

“Let us look to grandparents and the elderly as witnesses of hope, capable of illuminating the path of new generations. Let us not leave them alone but join them in an alliance of love and prayer,” he said.

Finally, the pope spoke in Spanish to greet the thousands of young people who will participate in the Jubilee of Youth from July 28 to Aug. 3, one of the biggest events of the current holy year.

“I hope it will be for everyone an occasion to encounter Christ and to be strengthened in faith and in the commitment to follow him with consistency,” the pope said.

As a journalist, Victoria Cardiel has specialized in social and religious news. Since 2013, she has covered the Vatican for various media outlets, including Europa Press and Alfa and Omega, the weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese of Madrid.