Pope Leo’s address to the plenary assembly of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith
Clementine Hall – Thursday, 29 January 2026
I appreciate, in particular, that you have initiated a fruitful discussion on the transmission of faith,
a matter of great urgency in our time.
We cannot overlook the fact that in recent decades there has been a breakdown in the way Catholics pass down the Christian faith to the young.
An increasing number of people no longer perceive the Gospel as a fundamental resource for their own existence, especially among the new generations
Pope Leo’s address
I cordially greet and thank the Prefect of the Dicastery, with the Superiors and the Officials.
I am well aware of the valuable service you perform, with the aim to “help the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops to proclaim the Gospel throughout the world by promoting and safeguarding the integrity of Catholic teaching on faith and morals … by drawing upon the deposit of faith and seeking an ever deeper understanding of it in the face of new questions”
Your task is to provide clarifications on the Church’s doctrine through pastoral and theological guidance on often very sensitive issues.
To this end, the Dicastery has published several documents over the last two years, the main ones of which are:
1. Gestis verbisque (with Deeds and Words), a note on the validity of the Sacraments (2 February 2024),
which offered clear instructions for resolving doubtful cases relating to their administration;
2. The Declaration Dignitas infinita (Infinite dignity), issued on April 2, 2024, reiterates the infinite dignity of every human being.
This dignity is currently under threat due to ongoing wars and an economy that prioritizes profit.
3.The Norms for proceeding in the discernment of alleged supernatural phenomena (17 May 2024) enabled the resolution of cases relating to these events.
This includes cases concerning the spiritual experience of Medjugorje, which are specifically addressed in the note “The Queen of Peace” (September 19, 2024).
4.The Note Antiqua et Nova (Ancient and New), prepared in collaboration with the Dicastery for Culture and Education (28 January 2025), which offers an extensive and precise consideration of the relationship between artificial and human intelligence;
5. The Doctrinal Note Mater Populi Fidelis (Faithful Mother of the People), issued on November 4, 2025, encourages popular Marian devotion by deepening its biblical and theological foundations while offering important and precise clarifications for Mariology. The note addresses certain Marian titles referring to Mary’s cooperation in the work of salvation;
6.Finally, the doctrinal Note Una caro (One flesh).
In Praise of Monogamy, (November 25, 2025) explores the value of marriage as an exclusive union and mutual belonging in an original way, focusing on the property of unity in marriage between a man and a woman.
This work will certainly benefit the spiritual growth of the holy and faithful people of God.
In the context of the epochal change we are experiencing, it provides the faithful with a prompt and clear message from the Church, particularly regarding the numerous new phenomena emerging in history. It also provides valuable guidance for bishops in their pastoral work and for theologians in their studies and evangelization efforts.
In particular, I appreciate that you have initiated a fruitful discussion on the transmission of faith in this “Plenary”. It is a matter of great urgency in our time.
Indeed, “we cannot overlook the fact that in recent decades there has been a breakdown in the way Catholics pass down the Christian faith to the young”, [1] and that, especially in contexts of longstanding evangelization, an increasing number of people, especially among the new generations, no longer perceive the Gospel as a fundamental resource for their own existence,.
Many young men and women live without any reference to God or the Church.
While this causes us pain as believers, it must also lead us to rediscover the “delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing,” which is at the heart of the life and mission of the Bride of Christ.
As I mentioned during the recent extraordinary Consistory,
“We want to be a Church that looks beyond itself.
We want to be a missionary Church.
We want to be a Church that looks beyond itself, at others”.
We want to be a Church which proclaims the Gospel, especially through the power of attraction.
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 by 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 the lifeblood of charity that cascades from the heart of the Savior, flows through that ‘channel”.
The Church proclaims Christ, without self-promotion or particularism, and in her, each one is and must always and only recognize himself as “a simple and humble laborer 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: welcoming and accompanying the bishops and superiors general who are called to deal with cases of crimes reserved to the Dicastery with every kindness and without judgment.
This is a very delicate ministry, and it is essential to ensure that justice, truth, and charity are always honored.
Dear friends, I would like to reiterate my gratitude to each of you for your valuable contribution to the life and work of the Dicastery and of the Church as a whole, especially when that contribution is offered in a humble and unobtrusive manner.
As a sign of my gratitude, I cordially impart my apostolic blessing to all of you and to your loved ones. Thank you.
Footnotes:
1. Address on the occasion of the Extraordinary Consistory (7 January 2026).
I am very pleased to welcome all of you. Thank you for your presence!
May the Holy Spirit, whom we have invoked, guide us during these two days of reflection and dialogue.
I consider it highly significant that we have gathered in consistory on the day after the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, and I would like to begin our work by proposing something drawn precisely from this very mystery.
The liturgy echoed the everlasting appeal of the prophet Isaiah:
“Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
For darkness will cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will rise upon you, and his glory will appear over you.
Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isaiah 60:1-3).
These words call to mind the beginning of the Second Vatican Council’s Constitution on the Church.
I will read the first paragraph in its entirety:
“Christ is the light of the nations and consequently this holy Synod, gathered together in the Holy Spirit, ardently desires to bring all humanity that light of Christ which is resplendent on the face of the Church, by proclaiming his Gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15 – “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation.).
Since the Church, in Christ, is a sacrament — a sign and instrument, that is, of communion with God and of the unity of the entire human race — it here proposes, for the benefit of the faithful and of the entire world, to describe more clearly, and in the tradition laid down by earlier councils, its own nature and universal mission.
The present situation lends greater urgency to this duty of the Church, so that all people, who nowadays are drawn ever more closely together by social, technical and cultural bonds, may achieve full unity in Christ” (Lumen Gentium, 1).
Though centuries apart, we can say that the Holy Spirit inspired the prophet and in the Council Fathers with the same vision: the light of the Lord illuminating the holy city — first Jerusalem, then the Church.
This light guides all peoples through the darkness of the world.
What Isaiah announced figuratively, the Council recognizes in the fully revealed reality of Christ, the light of the nations.
Within this conciliar perspective, which sees the mystery of the Church as entirely contained within the mystery of Christ, we can understand the overall pontificates of Saint Paul VI and Saint John Paul II. This perspective understands the evangelizing mission as a radiation of the inexhaustible energy released by the central event of salvation history.
Popes Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, in turn, summarized this vision in one word: “attraction.”
Pope Benedict XVI referred to this concept in his homily for the opening of the Aparecida Conference in 2007, when he said:
“The Church does not engage in proselytism. Instead, she grows by ‘attraction’: just as Christ ‘draws all to himself’ by the power of his love, culminating in the sacrifice of the Cross, so the Church fulfils her mission to the extent that, in union with Christ, she accomplishes every one of her works in spiritual and practical imitation of the love of her Lord.”
Pope Francis was in perfect agreement with this and repeated it several times in different contexts.
Today, I am happy to revisit this theme and share it with you.
I invite us to pay close attention to the “power” that Pope Benedict identified as driving this movement of attraction.
Indeed, this power is charis, it is Agape, it is the love of God that became incarnate in Jesus Christ and that is given to the Church in the Holy Spirit, sanctifying all her actions.
It is not the Church that attracts, but Christ. If a Christian or an ecclesial community attracts, it is because the lifeblood of charity flows through that “channel” from the heart of the Savior.
It is also significant that Pope Francis began with Evangelii Gaudium, “On the Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World,” and concluded with Dilexit Nos, “On the Human and Divine Love of the Heart of Jesus Christ.”
Saint Paul writes, “the love of Christ urges us on” ( 2 Corinthians 5:14).
The verb sunechei signifies that the love of Christ urges us on because it possesses us, envelops us and captivates us.
This is the power that attracts everyone to Christ, as he himself foretold: “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” ( John 12:32).
To the extent that we love one another as Christ has loved us, we belong to him, we are his community, and he can continue to draw others to himself through us.
In fact, only love is credible; only love is trustworthy. [1]
While unity attracts, division scatters.
It seems to me that physics also confirms this, both on the microscopic and macroscopic levels. Therefore, in order to be a truly missionary Church, one that is capable of witnessing to the attractive power of Christ’s love, we must first of all put into practice his commandment, the only one he gave us after washing his disciples’ feet: “Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.”
He then adds: “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:34-35).
St. Augustine observes: “This is why he loved us, so that we too might love one another.
By loving us, he gave us the help we need to bind ourselves together in mutual love, and, bound together by such a pleasing bond, we are the body of such a mighty head” (Homily 65 on the Gospel of John, 2).
Dear Brothers,
I would like to begin with these words of the Lord for our first consistory, especially for the collegial journey that we are called to undertake with God’s grace.
We are a diverse group enriched by a variety of backgrounds, cultures, ecclesial and social traditions, educational and professional experiences, and personal characteristics.
First, we are called to get to know one another and engage in dialogue so that we may work together to serve the Church. I hope that we can grow in communion and thus offer a model of collegiality.
Today, in a certain sense, we will continue that memorable meeting, which I was able to share with many of you immediately after the Conclave, in “a moment of communion and fraternity, of reflection and sharing, aimed at supporting and advising the Pope in the demanding responsibility of governing the universal Church” (Letter convoking the extraordinary consistory, 12 December 2025).
In the coming days, we will have the opportunity to engage in a communal reflection on four themes:
1. Evangelii Gaudium, that is, the mission of the Church in today’s world;
2. Praedicate Evangelium, namely the service of the Holy See, especially to the particular Churches;
3. the Synod and synodality as both an instrument and a style of cooperation;
4. the liturgy, the source and summit of the Christian life.
Due to time constraints, and in order to encourage a genuinely in-depth analysis, only two of them will be discussed specifically.
While each of the twenty-one groups will contribute to the choice that we will make, the groups that will be reporting will be those nine coming from the local Churches, since it is naturally easier for me to seek counsel from those who work in the Curia and live in Rome.
I am here to listen.
As we learned during the two Assemblies of the Synod of Bishops of 2023 and 2024, the synodal dynamic implies a listening par excellance.
Every moment of this kind is an opportunity to deepen our shared appreciation for synodality.
“The world in which we live, and which we are called to love and serve, even with its contradictions, demands that the Church strengthen cooperation in all areas of her mission.
It is precisely this path of synodality which God expects of the Church of the third millennium”
(Francis, Address on the 50th Anniversary of the Institution of the Synod of Bishops, 17 October 2015).
This day and a half together will point the way for our path ahead.
We must not arrive at a text but continue a conversation that will help me in serving the mission of the entire Church.
Looking at the path of the next one or two years, what considerations and priorities could guide the action of the Holy Father and of the Curia regarding each theme?
This will be our way of proceeding: being attentive to the heart, mind and spirit of each; listening to one other; expressing only the main point and in a succinct manner, so that all can speak.
The ancient Romans in their wisdom used to say: Non multa sed multum – Not many, but a lot!
In future, this way of listening to one another, seeking guidance from the Holy Spirit and walking together will continue to be of great help for me in the Petrine ministry.
The way in which we learn to work together, with fraternity and sincere friendship, can give rise to something new, something that brings both the present and the future into focus.
May the Holy Spirit always guide us, and may the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, assist us.
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[1] See H.U. Von Balthasar, Glaubhaft ist nur Liebe (Love Alone is credible).
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2/ Impromptu words at the end of the First Session of the Extraordinary Consistory
Good evening again, and many thanks for all the work already done in this first session.
I would like to start just by repeating the words of one of the secretaries, the first to speak, who suggested that the journey has been as important as the conclusion of the work at the table.
I would like to start from there to say, first of all, thank you for being here!
I think it is very important that you are all participating in this experience as the College of Cardinals of the Church, which offers not only to us – it is not for us – offers to the Church and the world a certain testimony of will, of desire, recognizing the value of being together, of making the sacrifice of a journey – for some of you, very long – to come to stay together and to be able to seek together what the Holy Spirit wants for the Church today and tomorrow.
So for this reason, I truly think it is important, even if it is a very short time, but it is a very important time for me too, because I feel,
I experience the need to be able to count on you: it is you who have called this servant to this mission!
So, I would like to say that I think it is important that we work together, that we discern together, that we seek what the Spirit is asking of us.
If you will allow me, I will repeat some words from yesterday’s homily on the Feast of the Epiphany.Many of you were present, but I will say it again.
“Let us ask ourselves: is there life in our Church?”.
I am convinced that there is, certainly.
In recent months, if I had not experienced it before, I have certainly had many beautiful experiences of the life of the Church.
But the question remains: is there life in our Church?
“Is there space for something new to be born? Do we love and proclaim a God who sets us on a journey?”. Or
Do we close ourselves off and say, “Everything is already done, finished, do as we have always done”.
There really is a path, and with the work of these days, we are walking together.
“In the Gospel reading, Herod fears for his throne and is agitated about those things that he feels are beyond his control.
He tries to take advantage of the wishes of the Magi by manipulating their quest”.
Herod “is ready to lie, he is willing to do anything.
Fear does indeed blind us. Conversely, the joy of the Gospel liberates us.
It makes us prudent, yes, but also bold, attentive and creative; it beckons us along ways that are different to those already travelled”.
This [meeting] is for me one of the many expressions in which we can truly live an experience of the newness of the Church.
The Holy Spirit is living and present also among us.
How wonderful it is to be together in the boat!
That image that Cardinal Radcliffe offered us in his reflection this afternoon, as if to say: let us stay together.
There may be things that frighten us; there may be doubts: where are we going?
How will it all end? But if we place our trust in the Lord, in his presence, we can do so much.
Thank you for your choices.
I think the choice of all the tables is quite clear, by a large majority.
And it seems very important to me, from the other comments made, that one theme cannot be separated from another.
In fact, there is much that we can see together.
But we want to be a Church that does not look only at itself, that is missionary, that looks beyond itself, at others.
The raison d’être of the Church is not for cardinals, bishops or clergy.
Its raison d’être is to proclaim the Gospel.
And so these two themes: Synod and synodality, as an expression of seeking to be a missionary Church in today’s world, and Evangelii gaudium, proclaiming the kerygma, the Gospel with Christ at its centre.
This is our mission.
And so I thank you. This will help us to organize ourselves for our work in the two sessions tomorrow.
The other themes will not be lost. They are very concrete, specific issues that we still need to look at.
I hope that each of you feels truly free to communicate with me or with others, and we will continue this process of dialogue and discernment.
So, that is all. Thank you for this service.
