Pope: Catholic Social Teaching shows path to peaceful coexistence

By Devin Watkins

The Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice Foundation is holding its 2026 European Conference in Luxembourg on Friday, January 23.

Pope Leo XIV sent a message, signed by Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, expressing his appreciation for its theme: “Peace Building in Europe: What Role for Catholic Social Thought and Universal Values?”

The Pope said the theme is particularly relevant in today’s world, in which societies resist discussing the universal values proposed by religion and their contribution to the common good.

“While this resistance arises for various reasons, the underlying crisis is the spread of relativism and the reduction of truth to opinion,” he said.

No continent or community, added the Pope, can “live in peace and thrive without commonly held truths that inform its norms and values.”

Pope Leo then recalled that the human person is created in the image and likeness of God.

He pointed to Pope St. John Paul II’s words in his encyclical Centesimus Annus, which state that: “no authentic progress is possible without respect for the natural and fundamental right to know the truth and live according to that truth.”

Catholic Social Teaching, said Pope Leo XIV, is rooted in the words and deeds of Jesus Christ, who revealed Himself as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

The Church’s Social Magisterium, he said, “has much to offer as it goes beyond borders and provides a platform for collective interests and way of living, thus making peaceful coexistence possible.”

In conclusion, Pope Leo expressed his hope that the conference in Luxembourg will contribute to reminding Europe of its deep Christian roots and advance the role of Catholic values “in building a more peaceful and just European continent.”