Pope Leo XIV Seeks Global Unity, Peace In His Inaugural Homily
By Yadnom Awu/
Asaba
Pope Leo XIV today gave his formal inaugural Homily in which he called for unity among the diversities of the world, particularly inter- faith cohesion.
He called for global peace anchored on fair play and equity.
The Pontiff said the search for enduring and just global peace must be led by a united church, which, he said, must be guided by honest missionary zeal and not the tendency to cocoon itself in self- righteousness and look down on the rest of society.
The Pope said the church must open its hands to the rest of the world and deliberately strive to unite with other faiths and even “those in search of God. ”
Recalling the revolutionary 19th century Pope Leo XIII and his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, whose death on Easter Monday at 88 years led to his election and today’s Papal inauguration, he said the church must unite not only its faithful but other faiths and the rest of the global society to build what he termed a ” new world where peace reigns.”
According to him, the heart of the Christian gospel is love, which the church must not know imbibe and demonstrate but also humbly teach the rest of the world by its conduct.
Leo XIV urged the church to endeavour, in humility, to introduce the rest of the world to Jesus Christ , the Son of God and Saviour of the world.
He also spoke of the injustice to the materially- disadvantaged and said the church must lead the efforts to a more equitable system.
He equally condemned the high incidence of violence in the world and called for generic honest efforts to reverse the trend.
