In his first mass as new Pope on Friday, Leo XIV warned that losing one’s faith can have “dramatic side effects.”
These include finding that “the meaning of life is lost, mercy is forgotten, human dignity is violated in the most dramatic ways
“The crisis of the family and many other wounds from which our society is suffering significantly,” he said, speaking in Italian.
He said that nowadays, faith is regarded as something “absurd,” as something for “weak and unintelligent people,” the new pontiff told the faithful.
Faith is often replaced by other things such as technology, money, success, power and pleasure, Leo said.
He added that the figure of Jesus Christ is often seen merely as a “charismatic leader or superhuman.” This, he said, was effectively a form of atheism.
Before his sermon, Leo, the first pope from the United States, addressed the cardinals in English.
They had called on him to “carry that cross and to carry out that mission,” he said of his election.
“And I know I can rely on each and every one of you to walk with me, as we continue as a Church, as a community of friends of Jesus, as believers, to announce the Good News, to announce the Gospel,” the Chicago-born pope said.
