It’s no secret that Leo XIV has been invited to speak at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Leo XIV is inclined to accept the invitation, and the trip could take place next fall . But what might the Pope’s message from America to Europe be? What topics will he address?
A year into his pontificate, while we await an encyclical on the themes of peace and social doctrine due to be published soon (the title should be Magnifica Humanitas ), we can begin to outline Leo XIV’s thoughts on the role of committed Christians in society . In particular, the speech the Pope gave to members of the European People’s Party on April 25th provides many indications.
The lines of thought of Leo XIV
Leo XIV’s speech unfolded along three fundamental lines: Christian inspiration as the guide for all political action; adherence to truth and natural law; the ideal of a realistic and popular, but not populist, politics.
The theme of Christian inspiration is the underlying theme throughout the speech. Leo XIV immediately mentions Europe’s founding fathers—Adenauer, De Gasperi, and Schuman, whose beatification process is underway—and recalls that the European People’s Party also draws inspiration from these giants. Furthermore, the Pope recalls that the EPP group recognizes Europe’s Christian heritage, and emphasizes the ideal horizon from which it was born, namely—in Schuman’s words—”making war impossible.”
The theme of adherence to truth is the second common thread. Leo XIV addresses it by starting with one of the axioms of Pope Francis’s Evangelii Gaudium, namely that “unity is superior to conflict,” and he does so to urge European parliamentarians to remain firm in their ideals. Indeed, the Pope emphasizes that one must have “a broad view of the future, without fear, when necessary for the common good, of making difficult and even unpopular choices .”
Leo XIV also warns against the possibility of “exalting an ideology” but asks us to pursue an ideal that places the human person at the center.
And this is where the third directive comes into play: that of being a “popular” party, therefore aimed at a people who must be “participants in every political action”, because a “popular politics requires time, shared projects and love of the truth”.
Leo XIV therefore asks to recreate a popular fabric, which is the principle of Christian realism , which, according to the Pope, is “the true antidote to a politics that is often shouted, made only of slogans, incapable of responding to the real needs of people”.
The role of Christians in politics
For Leo XIV, these three directives can be summarized in three characteristics of the Christian engaged in politics .
The first is to look at the Gospel , but without being confessional.
The second is to have a realistic perspective, also trying to overcome the fear of starting a family and having children , addressing the root causes of migration and caring for those who suffer without, however, neglecting the capacity of institutions to address these phenomena, also taking into particular consideration the new challenges of caring for creation and artificial intelligence.
The third characteristic is that being Christians engaged in politics means investing in a freedom “anchored in truth , which protects religious freedom, freedom of thought and freedom of conscience in every place and human condition”.
The background to the Pope’s speech
Behind the Pope’s speech lies, first and foremost, an observation: Christians involved in politics risk becoming divided and losing sight of the common goal. Freedom of conscience is granted on certain ethical issues, without providing clear guidelines on what to vote for and why.
Meanwhile, the “culture of death,” to use a phrase dear to John Paul II, has become increasingly widespread in Europe. France has inserted a passage into its Constitution stating that “the law determines the conditions under which the freedom guaranteed to women to have abortions is exercised.” This does not refer to the right to abortion, as had been voted on by the Assembly at the end of 2022, but an intermediate formulation has been found with respect to the wording approved by the Senate, which instead referred to the freedom to abort.
In 2021, the Matic Report was presented to the European Parliament, which described abortion as a human right , and now the “My Voice, My Choice” initiative is underway, which aims to liberalize abortion services throughout Europe. This initiative was greeted with concern by the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) , which however positively assessed “the European Commission’s decision not to submit to the European Parliament and the Council a proposal for a legal act establishing a new funding program, as requested by the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) My Voice, My Choice. choice and supported by Parliament . This decision recognizes the need to respect the limits of the European Union’s competences and to uphold the principle of subsidiarity.
Then there is the issue of the family, and the demographic winter that led Pope Francis to describe Europe as a grandmother. Leo XIV could offer a line on these issues next May 25 , when he meets with the European Parliament’s Intergroup on Demography.
The risk of disunity on these issues is high, if only because, for reasons of expediency, politicians often shy away from taking a firm stance. But then there are other major European issues, from migration to populism, which don’t just concern the populist wave, but rather a fundamental attitude. Because we know that elections are won by adopting populist positions, and the Pope warns Christians who engage in politics against doing so, and instead to maintain a united stance.
Leo XIV does not seem to be a Pope who dwells on small practical matters, on what might be called “casuistry.” Instead, Leo XIV focuses on great principles. Perhaps it is no longer the time to use the expression “non-negotiable principles,” but these principles are ever-present in the Pope’s teaching. There are no deviations from the truth. There is dialogue, there is understanding, but there are no deviations.
And the theme of truth was present both in the speech to the European People’s Party on 25 April, and in the first speech to the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See on 16 May 2025 , as well as in various other interventions by the Pope during this year of his pontificate.
The commitment to peace
The topic of peace in Europe deserves a separate chapter. The war in Ukraine, provoked by Russian aggression, has shaken the European order, and, naturally, all the Union’s efforts have been in solidarity with the attacked Ukraine and sanctions against the aggressive Russia. Europe’s rearmament plan is seen as a defensive necessity, especially at a time when the international order seems to have gone haywire, and Europe itself risks finding itself without defensive umbrellas and even the ability to defend its territorial integrity.
Obviously, the Holy See cannot approve of a rearmament plan. It may consider war a necessary evil —there is the whole doctrine of just war, further complicated by Pope Francis’s declaration in the encyclical Fratelli Tutti that no war is de facto just—but it must always strive for peace, for complete disarmament as a great utopia to be achieved, and for a necessary dialogue between peoples.
When the Pope addresses the European Parliament, therefore, the issue of peace will be framed through the prism of the Church’s social doctrine. And it should not be surprising if the Pope asks the European Parliament to also involve Russia in the peace talks, while taking into account the specific nature of the aggression and, indeed, without granting Russia any concessions regarding its responsibility for the war.
What will the Pope say in Strasbourg?
Leo XIV’s visit to Strasbourg, however, will not only bring with it these themes, but also those of the Pope’s new encyclical , which should be released in the next two weeks. Magnifica Humanitas, as the encyclical is expected to be titled, will take the Pope’s approach. Leo XIV does not tell politicians how to behave or what to do. He does not take a political position, as he has made clear. Rather, he asks all Catholics involved in politics to act responsibly, remaining anchored to Christian values.
Obviously, the Pope won’t be addressing an audience of Catholics only, or even members of the European People’s Party with all their Christian roots. But his will be a broader, deeper appeal, calling for a return to the origins of a united Europe. Perhaps with a nod to his beloved Augustine, to the construction of the city of God that often recurs in Leo XIV’s diplomatic speeches ( including recent ones during his trip to Africa ), and which will truly, likely, be the guiding principle of this pontificate.