Pope Leo XIV Warns Christians against 'Practical Atheism' in Powerful First Homily
During his first homily as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV condemned "practical atheism" and the tendency to reduce Jesus Christ to a "charismatic leader or a Superman." Pope Leo XIV, who was elected to the papacy last week, celebrated mass on Friday in front of the College of Cardinals at the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, The Christian Post reported. At the time, he remarked that there "are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for weak people or stupid people, settings where other securities are preferred like technology or money or success or power or pleasure."
"These are contexts where it's not easy to preach the gospel, where it's not easy to bear witness to the truth, where believers are mocked, opposed, despised, or at best tolerated and pitied," he added.
Despite Christian persecution across the world, Leo XIV stressed the necessity of sharing the faith.
"Precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed," the new pope said.
"A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family, and so many other wounds that our society suffers. Even today, there are not lacking settings in which Jesus, although appreciated as a man, is reduced to a kind of charismatic leader or a Superman," he noted.
"This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians who thus end up living at this level in a state of practical atheism," he asserted.
Leo XIV also described his vision of the Roman Catholic Church as "a city set on a hill, an arc of salvation sailing through the waters of history and a beacon that illumines the dark nights of the world."
He proposed that the Church can meet this objective "not so much through the magnificence of her structures and the grandeur of her buildings, like the monuments among which we find ourselves, but rather through the holiness of her members."
"We are the people whom God has chosen as his own so that we may declare the wonderful deeds of Him, who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light," he added.
Last Thursday, Cardinal Robert Prevost became the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church and took the name Leo XIV. He is the successor of the late Pope Francis, who passed away nearly three weeks ago.
Prevost, who spent years overseas as a missionary in Peru and is a Peruvian citizen, was born in the U.S. and is the first in America to become pope.
Related Article: 4 Things American Christians Should Know about Pope Leo XIV
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Vatican Pool/Contributor
Originally published May 12, 2025.
