Praise be Jesus Christ and welcome to this live broadcast of Pope Leo the 14th's Wednesday general audience held today in a sunny St. Peter's Square. My name is Devin Watkins and I'll be providing the commentary and translation for this papal audience.
As we can see as we go live, the Holy Father is making his way through the square here in St. Peter's, greeting the faithful. Many people have been wishing him a happy birthday and greeting him in various languages, and he's been pausing every few feet to bless tiny infants.
From wherever you're joining us, I'd like to welcome you to this live broadcast. Some of you may be joining us through our various Vatican media channels, perhaps the Vatican News app or the Vatican News web portal, or our English YouTube channel or our Facebook live feed. We also welcome all of you who are joining us through our partner broadcasting stations, including EWTN TV, Salt and Light TV, Catholic Television of San Antonio, Texas, Catholic Faith Network in America, Shalom World TV, Radio Maria UK, Luminous Radio in India, and Radio Maria Papua New Guinea.
We also welcome all of you who are joining us through various diocesan broadcasting radio stations. And a special welcome to our friends from the Deaf Catholic Youth Initiative for the Americas, DCIA. Please visit our Vatican News YouTube channel to find translation of this event and many others in American Sign Language, or ASL.
We see the Holy Father is making his way in the popemobile up the steps to the parvis here in St. Peter's Square.
The Holy Father today will be continuing his reflections on the documents of the Second Vatican Council, the pastoral constitution Gaudium et Spes, as he's been focusing on in recent weeks. And this is the third of this series, and the Holy Father will focus on the human community, that's Gaudium et Spes 23-32.
As you may know, the Holy Father celebrated his 71st birthday on September 14th, a Monday, two days ago. He spent the day with — he met with the Vatican Apostolic Library, and he noted during that event that his own mother was a librarian. And so he said he felt at home, and that God has a sense of humor for him to celebrate his birthday in this way.
And now the Holy Father will begin this general audience by leading us with the sign of the cross and the liturgical greeting.
And now we'll hear the gospel, the scriptures passage read in various languages, starting with Italian, comes from Genesis 1:27 and 28.
A reading from the book of Genesis. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.' The word of the Lord.
And now the scripture reading will be read in German, Spanish, and Chinese.
And now the scripture will be read in Portuguese and Arabic.
And finally the scripture will be read in Polish.
And now the Holy Father will deliver his catechesis in Italian.
Brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome.
By dedicating the second chapter of the human community to the human community, the constitution Gaudium et Spes invites us to consider the growing interdependence of men one on the other as one of the salient features of the modern world. This reality must, however, find fulfillment on a deeper level of this communion between persons, for which a mutual respect for the full spiritual dignity of the person is essential.
These are statements which in our times have taken on even greater urgency. On the one hand, technological development, the spread of the mass media and social media, and the ever-increasing use of artificial intelligence are opening up new possibilities, breaking down barriers and bridging distances. On the other hand, relationships are tending to become less and less personal, more virtual, and there is a risk of becoming accustomed to delegating to algorithms decisions that are the sole preserve of the human conscience. Ensuring that social relationships have real substance and personal depth is, in this regard, the contribution that the Christian community seeks to offer.
The council invites us to draw criteria and strength from God's creative plan, in which he willed that all men should constitute one family and treat one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Which is why love for God and neighbor is the first and greatest commandment, which found its full revelation and complete fulfillment in Christ.
The perfection of the human person and the development of society must be regarded as closely interdependent. To set them against one another or separate them would be to render them meaningless. History, even recent history, clearly confirms this truth. We must therefore never tire of reiterating, in the words of the fathers of the Second Vatican Council, that the subject and goal of all social institutions is and must be the human person, which for its part and by its very nature stands completely in need of social life.
From this perspective, Gaudium et Spes affirms that the diversity of people and peoples in the world must not be considered as a danger or a threat, but rather as a resource for enrichment and growth. Conflict, which at times degenerates into violence, is the result of the power of sin and the way it conditions mindsets and actions at every level, causing destruction and death. We must be ever more open to the logic of reciprocity, sharing and care, as is also the case among the various members of the human body.
On this point, the pastoral constitution also offers a concise definition of the common good, recalling that it consists of the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment. At the same time, acknowledging the interdependence between peoples, it states that every social group must take account of the needs and legitimate aspirations of other groups and even of the general welfare of the entire human family.
Starting from this premise, the council fathers then set out some practical and particularly urgent consequences. First and foremost, respect for the human person. Gaudium et Spes states, 'Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia, or willful self-destruction; whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children, as well as disgraceful working conditions where men are treated as mere tools for profit rather than free and responsible persons. All these things and others of their like are infamies indeed.'
The second consequence: the fundamental equality of all human beings, which demands social justice. The document states, 'Every type of discrimination, whether social or cultural, whether based on sex, race, color, social condition, language, or religion, is to be overcome and eradicated as contrary to God's intent.'
Finally, the council fathers exhort us to overcome the individualistic mindset and to adopt an attitude of responsibility and participation. Dear brothers and sisters, this vision of humanity as a community of people is a valuable legacy that the Second Vatican Council has left us. It helps us all to engage in personal and communal discernment so that we may responsibly evaluate today's social and political projects based on the criteria of the dignity of the human person, social justice, and free participation in constructing the common good. For the future of humanity depends on each person's commitment to collaborate with God and with their brothers and sisters in building a more humane world.
And now we hear the French-speaking greeter greeting the Holy Father in the name of everyone gathered at the general audience. And she will also offer a summary of the Holy Father's catechesis in French, followed by a greeting of the Holy Father in Italian and then translated.
I greet all the French-speaking pilgrims, especially the group of pilgrims from Paris. Love of God and love of neighbor is the first and greatest of the commandments. Be protagonists of relationship and fraternity.
Most Holy Father, the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors would like to wish you a happy birthday and a happy feast of St. Robert. They wish to express to you their sentiments of deep respect and esteem and to assure you of their prayers for your ministry as the successor of Peter. At the end of the audience, we will sing together the Our Father in Latin. His Holiness will then impart his apostolic blessing, which he extends in a particular way to the members of your families at home. He also intends to bless any religious articles you may have brought for this purpose. And in a special way, his blessing goes to your children, the elderly, and those who are sick.
Dear brothers and sisters, in our continuing catechesis on the Second Vatican Council's document Gaudium et Spes, today we focus on the importance of human relationships. Our understanding of human community is based on the foundation of the dignity of the human person. Instead of seeing differences as a danger or threat, the vision of humanity as a community of persons enables us to work together to seek the common good. When we move beyond an individualistic mindset to adopt an attitude of responsibility and participation in the effort to build a more humane and just world, social relationships are enriched with real substance and personal depth. They likewise contribute to the fulfillment of each human person and the development of society. Dear brothers and sisters, let us renew our commitment to realizing in Christ the precious gift of our humanity.
I extend a warm welcome to all the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors taking part in today's audience, especially those from England, Scotland, Norway, Ghana, South Africa, Uganda, Australia, India, Israel, the Philippines, Vietnam, Canada, and the United States of America. Upon each of you and your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you all.
And now we will hear the greetings and summary in German.
I extend a cordial greeting to the German-speaking pilgrims. As we celebrate the season of creation during these days, we are invited to raise our gaze to contemplate creation, praising and worshiping the creator, and to understand ever more fully God's wonderful plan and our responsibility to care for the earth.
And now we'll hear the greetings and summary in Spanish.
I greet the Spanish-speaking pilgrims. During these days, many Latin American countries are celebrating their national holidays. Let us ask the Lord that while cherishing the identity of our homeland, the gospel may open our minds and hearts to recognize that we are part of a greater divine plan, that we are part of the human family created by God. May the Lord bless you. Thank you very much.
