Church's unity comes from faith in Christ and from love, pope says

VATICAN CITY (CNS) --The Catholic Church is made up of diverse people who are united by their faith in Christ and are called to welcome all of humanity, Pope Leo XIV said during his weekly general audience.

“Its unifying principle is not a language, a culture, an ethnicity, but faith in Christ,” he said in St. Peter's Square March 11.

Continuing his series of reflections on the Second Vatican Council, the pope focused on the Dogmatic Constitution "Lumen Gentium," which describes the Church as the “People of God.”

The Church is the assembly of “all those who in faith look upon Jesus,” he said, united not by nationality or culture but by their shared faith in Christ.

Pope Leo said this understanding is rooted in the Bible, pointing to God's covenant with Abraham and the people of Israel, which prepared the way for the new covenant established through the death and resurrection of Jesus.

The pope said love is the law that governs relationships within the Church, as believers receive and experience it through Jesus. Through Christ, believers from every nation are united in faith, he said. The Church is the people of God who “draw their existence from the body of Christ and who are themselves the body of Christ.”

Rather than turning inward, the pope said, the Church must remain open to everyone.

“Unified in Christ, Lord and Savior of every man and woman, the Church can never turn inwards on herself, but is open to everyone and is for everyone,” he said.

In a world marked by conflict and division, Pope Leo added, the diversity of the Church is a sign of hope.

“It is a great sign of hope -- especially in our times, marked by so many conflicts and wars -- to know that the Church is a people in which women and men of different nationalities, languages and cultures live together in faith,” he said.

Before greeting Italian-speakers, the pope said he was close to the Lebanese people "in this moment of grave trial," following the death of Father Pierre El-Rahi. The Maronite priest was killed in an Israeli bombing of southern Lebanon March 9. The pope said his funeral was to be held March 11 in Al-Qlayaa, a Christian village. 

"In Arabic, ‘Adrachi’ means shepherd. Father Pierre was a true shepherd who always remained close to his people with the love and sacrifice of Jesus, the Good Shepherd," he said in Italian. "As soon as he heard that some parishioners had been wounded in a bombing, without hesitation, he ran to help them."

Before the audience, Pope Leo met privately with Cardinal Dominique J. Mathieu, Archbishop of Tehran and Isfahan, Iran. The Belgian cardinal, who is a member of the Franciscans, arrived in Rome March 8 after being evacuated along with every member of the Italian Embassy, where he is based. 

During the general audience, Pope Leo asked for prayers of peace in Iran and throughout the Middle East, above all for the many civilian victims and innocent children. 

"May our prayer be a comfort to those who suffer and a seed of hope for the future," he said.