In an editorial marking the first anniversary of Leo XIV’s pontificate, a Vatican spokesman wrote that “peace and the unity of the Church have been the two recurring and foundational themes of the first year.”
“If peace has imposed itself as an urgent priority because of the multiplication of senseless conflicts and the progressive erosion of international law, the unity of the Church is a thread that runs through the entire magisterium of the Bishop of Rome,” said Andrea Tornielli, editorial director of the Dicastery for Communication.
“The way in which Pope Leo has repeated his appeals for the unity of believers, in Christ,” Tornielli added, “is particularly significant and has nothing to do with a demand for ‘normality’ or a tranquility that dulls differences and perhaps waters down contrasts.”