In the Angelus address Pope Leo XIV made June 29, on the Solemnity of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, the Holy Father said the Church’s mission is not to bar the doors to the Kingdom, but to help everyone find the way in.
Speaking from Saint Peter’s Square, Pope Leo offered a meditation on the image of Saint Peter and the keys to the kingdom of heaven, reflecting on Jesus’ words in the day’s Gospel and their meaning for the Church’s understanding of authority.
“Those keys represent the ministry of authority that Jesus entrusted to him at the service of all the Church,” he said. “Because authority is a service, and authority that is not service is dictatorship.”
The pope cautioned against interpreting this authority as restrictive or elitist. He described the Kingdom of God not as a locked vault but as something small, hidden, and valuable — like a seed, a pearl, or leaven — that can be reached by cultivating virtue.
“To reach it, therefore, one does not need to activate mechanisms and safety locks, but to cultivate virtues such as patience, attention, constancy, humility, service,” he said.
Rather than guarding the Church as a gatekeeper, Peter was entrusted with the task of making entry possible for all, Pope Leo said.
“[T]he mission that Jesus entrusts to Peter is not to bar the doors to the house, permitting entry only to a few select guests, but rather to help everyone find the way to enter, in faithfulness to the Gospel of Jesus,” he said. “Everyone, everyone, everyone can enter.”
He noted that Peter was not chosen for perfection, but for his humility and openness to God’s grace.
“Peter received the keys to the Kingdom not because he was perfect, no — he was a sinner — but because he was humble, honest, and the Father had given him sincere faith,” he said.
Pope Leo also extended a special greeting to all residents of Rome, offering prayers for families in difficulty, the elderly, the sick, the imprisoned, and those facing hardship. He expressed hope that all would come to know the love of Christ as a source of joy and self-giving.
“Jesus Christ’s love is life-saving and… drives us to give our life to others and to do so with joy, with gratuitousness. Life cannot be sold,” he said.
He concluded with a plea for peace, voicing sorrow for “brothers and sisters who are suffering because of war” and calling on the faithful to pray for all those wounded or threatened by violence, that God might sustain them in their pursuit of peace.
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Author: Rachel Quackenbush
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