Responding to a letter from a man who described himself as an atheist who is seeking God’s love, Pope Leo XIV wrote that “those who seek Him with a sincere heart cannot be atheists.”
“Perhaps the right distinction to make is not so much between believers and non-believers, but between seekers and non-seekers of God,” Pope Leo wrote. “We are all longing for Love, we are all seekers of God. And therein lies the dignity and beauty of our lives.”
The exchange was published in Piazza San Pietro, a magazine published under the Vatican basilica’s auspices. Pope Leo has continued his predecessor’s custom of answering one letter in each issue.