In his speech, the Pontiff reminded that decisions must respect human dignity and take into account, especially, those who have less power to defend themselves.
Differences do not have to lead to division. They can become a creative force when accompanied by shared responsibility and directed towards the common good. This was one of the keys of Pope León XIV's message to the participants in the IV Synodal Meeting “Fratelli Tutti”, whom he received this Saturday, September 12, 2026, in an audience at the Vatican Apostolic Palace. The event has been held from Thursday the 10th to this Saturday the 12th at the General House of La Salle in Rome.
In his extensive speech, alternating between Spanish and English, the Pontiff greeted the representatives of the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council, the Amazon Ecclesial Conference, and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States. He also valued the consistency with which, for five years, they have maintained a path of North-South socio-environmental dialogue alongside the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
He also thanked the presence of representatives from international organizations, regional cooperation banks, companies, foundations, labor unions, employer chambers, universities, ecclesial networks, and social organizations.
The breadth of this representation, he pointed out, gives particular interest to the meeting, as it brings together actors with responsibilities in decisive areas for social, economic, and cultural life. Their presence expresses, he affirmed, the willingness to continue a dialogue capable of translating into development models that are “more humane, sustainable, and supportive,” which protect the dignity of each person and pay special attention to those at risk of being marginalized.
“A brave and trusting dialogue”
León XIV linked this effort to an essential dimension of the Church's mission. He recalled that, at the beginning of his pontificate, he had pointed out before the College of Cardinals, on May 10, 2025, the need for a “brave and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its different components and realities.”
The dialogue with the world, he explained, does not constitute a secondary activity for the Church, but belongs to its own evangelizing mission. The Church announces the Gospel in the midst of the concrete circumstances in which peoples live and, therefore, is called to face the reality of men and women.
The Pope recalled in this context that the Church is called to “assume reality” and also to unmask the contradictions that can accompany scientific and technological progress, whose unprecedented possibilities pose new responsibilities, as he stated in the catechesis of the General Audience on Wednesday, September 2.
What humanity do we want to build?
In the face of technological development, León XIV invited to go beyond the simple acceptance or rejection of certain tools. The decisive question, he argued, is “what humanity do we want to build and what place will each person have in it?”
The Pontiff placed this question in the horizon of the Christian faith: God has entered into history and, in Jesus Christ, has assumed humanity. The Church, therefore, is called to discern within history what truly serves the human being and what can ultimately turn against him.
The transformations of our time, he added, demand a responsibility that exceeds the possibilities of any isolated institution. Hence the need to recover the logic of subsidiarity, recognizing the own responsibility of each actor and, at the same time, the need to work together.
In this sense, he valued the initiative of the Church in the Americas to promote a North-South Shared Responsibility Agenda for Multisectoral Cooperation.
Differences should not become fragmentation
The Pope linked this perspective with the “social friendship” proposed by Francis in Fratelli tutti. A shared responsibility agenda can contribute, he affirmed, to ensuring that legitimate differences do not become fragmentation.
In his first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, Leo XIV has emphasized that pluralism needs a principle of unity that allows it to be oriented towards common foundations and towards the ultimate end of the person.
In this sense, he emphasized that the challenge is especially important in an era marked by polarized narratives that find rapid amplification and in which confrontation can easily become an instrument of power. That different people and institutions have decided to sit at the same table, he noted, already entails a responsibility. He also pointed out that true dialogue requires more than cordiality: it requires staying in the conversation when opposing interests arise and when decisions demand concrete sacrifices.
For believers, moreover, fraternity has a foundation that precedes any agreement: “we have one Father.” Pope Leo XIV thus reiterated a statement from Fratelli tutti: “without an openness to the Father of all, there will be no solid and stable reasons for the call to fraternity.”
“Do not be afraid”
In the part delivered in English, the Pontiff focused on the res novae, the new realities that characterize our time, and spoke of a movement of reflection and action that requires institutions capable of regulating without stifling and protecting without taking over everything.
He also pointed out the responsibility of companies, called to recognize work and dignity as measures of success; of intermediary organizations and educational communities, which can contribute to rebuilding trust and relationships; and of citizens, called to cultivate responsibility, moderation, discernment, and a sense of truth.
Tensions and differences, he explained, should not intimidate, because they can become “creative forces” when guided by a shared responsibility.
Social Doctrine as a process of discernment
On this path, the Pope highlighted the contribution of the Church's social doctrine. Many of the present organizations, he noted, know it, study it, and contribute to spreading it.
However, he specified, it is not a manual of principles and norms that should be applied mechanically, but rather “a process of shared discernment”.
Its principles do not replace the decisions that different actors must make. They offer, rather, criteria to judge whether those decisions truly respect human dignity and serve the common good. Therefore, the value of the achieved consensus cannot be measured solely by the number of people who support it. It must also be recognized by the interests it manages to protect and, especially, by the impact it has on the lives of those who have less power to defend themselves.
Social justice constitutes, in this sense, a decisive criterion. A social, economic, and political order can be truly human when it allows everyone, “particularly the weakest,” to live a dignified life without leaving anyone behind.
The image of Nehemiah
At the conclusion of his intervention, the Successor of Peter turned to the biblical figure of Nehemiah, which he presented at the end of Magnifica humanitas as an image of a collective task.
Faced with a ruined Jerusalem, he recalled, Nehemiah listened to the suffering of his people, brought it before God, discerned what needed to be done, sought the necessary resources, and organized a project that could only be carried out through the participation of many people.
The Pope proposed this image to the participants of the meeting. Even today, he stated, “great edifices” collapse where progress ceases to serve the person, where work loses its dignity, where entire communities are marginalized, or where technology ends up deepening the divisions it should help to overcome.
A culture of negotiation in service of peace
The Bishop of Rome also encouraged cultivating a “culture of negotiation,” understood as part of a better policy, capable of seeking the common good above individual interests.
Negotiation, he noted, can open paths where differences seem to close all possibility of meeting. In this way, those participating in this process can also contribute to the peace diplomacy that the world needs.
The Pontiff returned once again to Nehemiah: he did not rebuild Jerusalem alone. He called his people, and each person took on the part that corresponded to them.
“Now it is up to you to recognize what part of this shared labor has been entrusted to you. May the progress of our time not leave new ruins in its wake, and may all that we build truly be a home and a refuge for all, starting with those most in need.”
Prevost's final wish was that the progress of our time does not leave new ruins in its wake and that what is built can truly become “a home and a refuge for all,” starting with those who need it most.
The audience ended with the Pope's invitation to pray together the Our Father, followed by the Apostolic Blessing of the Holy Father.
You may be interested in: Daniel Flores on polarization in the U.S.: "We want to promote a reasonable discourse on the common good"
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