Pope Leo XIV warns of a faith reduced to 'custom', asks for Church to reflect the love of God

During his meeting with Catholics in Monaco, the second appointment of his whirlwind trip to the small country, Pope Leo XIV warned about the risks of reducing faith “to custom” and called on the faithful to be like Christ, defending the poor and marginalized against individualistic secularism. The pontiff supported his reflections in the document Quo vadis, humanitas? of the International Theological Commission, published on March 4, 2026. The Latin phrase means “Where are you going, humanity?” The pope met Catholics at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Monaco, built between 1875 and 1903 in the neo-Romanesque style. The temple houses the tomb of some sovereigns of the principality, including Prince Rainier III and Princess Grace Kelly, an iconic American actress who became royalty after marrying Rainier III in 1956. The Principality of Monaco is one of the last European countries to maintain Catholicism as a state religion, though its 1962 constitution guarantees freedom of worship and expression. In practice it means that Catholicism is taught in schools and that state ceremonies include a Mass. In November of 2025 Prince Albert II vetoed a law passed by the National Council that sought to legalize abortion up to 12 weeks. He justified his decision by citing the Catholic identity of the principality and the need to maintain the current legal framework, which decriminalizes the termination of pregnancy only in exceptional cases Based on the episode of the Gospel in which the Apostle John describes Jesus Christ as the righteous (cf. 1 Jn 2,1-2), the pope explained that the Church is called to be “lawyer”, that is, to defend man in his integrity and all human beings, promoting a comprehensive development that respects the dignity and ultimate goal of the person. He asked the faithful to contemplate Christ as a “lawyer” and urged Christians to provide “passionate and generous” service in evangelization. “Announce the gospel of life, hope and love; bring to all the light of the Gospel so that the life of every man and woman is defended and promoted from their conception to their natural end,” he said. The pope arrived at the cathedral after his visit to the Princeʼs Palace, where the Monegasque sovereign family resides. A living and prophetic faith It is important, the pope pointed out, that the proclamation of the Gospel and the forms of faith “are preserved from the risk of being reduced to habit, even if it is good.” “A living faith is always prophetic, capable of raising questions and offering provocations: Are we really defending the human being? Are we protecting the dignity of the person in the protection of life in all its phases? Is the current economic and social model really fair and inspired by solidarity?” he said. Leo cited Pope Benedict XVIʼs encyclical Caritas in veritate published in 2009: “Is this model inhabited by the ethics of responsibility, which helps us to go beyond the ‘logic of the exchange of equivalent things and profit as an end in itself?’” he said. Alert against secularism The pontiff also warned about the “impulses of secularism,” which can reduce man to individualism and orient social life only towards the production of wealth. The Holy Father asked for a new orientation based on the Gospel and to adopt the compassionate and merciful love of Christ. Christ, he said, became a “lawyer” to defend the poor and sinners, freeing them from oppression and making them children of God and brothers among themselves. “He does not come to condemn, but to offer mercy that purifies, heals, transforms and makes us part of the only family of God,” he stressed. The Church, reflection of Godʼs love The Pope praised the hospitality of Monaco, a small cosmopolitan state with cultural and socioeconomic diversity. He recalled that in the Church there are no social classes: “Everyone is welcomed as people and children of God, and all are recipients of a gift of grace that drives communion, fraternity and reciprocal love.” According to the pontiff, the first service that the Gospel must provide is “to enlighten the person and society, so that they discover their identity, the meaning of human life, the value of relationships and solidarity, as well as the ultimate end of existence and the destiny of history.” This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English. The Holy Father described the Monacan patron Saint Devota as “a courageous young woman who knew how to bear witness to her faith.”