commentary

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The secret to living an authentic life is praying to understand what is truly beneficial according to God's plan and letting go of the superfluous, Pope Leo XIV said.

In fact, death "can be a great teacher of life. To know that it exists, and above all to reflect on it, teaches us to choose what we really want to make of our existence," the pope said Dec. 10 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

"Praying, in order to understand what is beneficial in view of the kingdom of heaven, and letting go of the superfluous that instead binds us to ephemeral things, is the secret to living authentically, in the awareness that our passage on earth prepares us for eternity," he said.

It was the pope's first general audience after returning from his first apostolic trip, a visit to Turkey and Lebanon Nov. 27-Dec. 2. An 82-foot-tall Christmas tree, which arrived Nov. 27 and will be fully decorated and unveiled with the Nativity scene Dec. 15, could be seen near the obelisk in the square. 

Instead of using his general audience talk to recap his trip as had been the custom of his immediate predecessors, the pope did so after reciting the Angelus Dec. 7. At the audience, he continued his series of talks on the Jubilee theme of "Jesus our hope," focusing on "death in the light of the Resurrection."

"Our present culture tends to fear death and seeks to avoid thinking about it, even turning to medicine and science in search of immortality," Pope Leo said in his English-language remarks.

However, Jesus' victory of passing from death to life with his Resurrection "illuminates our own mortality, reminding us that death is not the end, but a passing from this life into eternity," he said. "Therefore, death is not something to be feared, but rather a moment to prepare for."

"It is an invitation to examine our lives and so live in such a way that we may one day share not only in the death of Christ, but also in the joy of eternal life," the pope said.

"The event of the Resurrection of Christ reveals to us that death is not opposed to life, but rather is a constitutive part of it, as the passage to eternal life," he said in his main catechesis in Italian.

"He has prepared for us the place of eternal rest, the home where we are awaited; he has given us the fullness of life in which there are no longer any shadows and contradictions," Pope Leo said.

Awaiting death "with the sure hope of the Resurrection preserves us from the fear of disappearing forever and prepares us for the joy of life without end," he said. 

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York announced on December 8 that the archdiocese is entering into mediation in lieu of court proceedings and is raising $300 million to fund abuse settlements with 1,300 plaintiffs. The anticipated funds are coming from budget cuts and property sales.

In a two-page document entitled “Asylum Update,” the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Department of Migration and Refugee Services addressed four questions about the federal pause in applications for asylum.

The questions include “What is the status of asylum adjudications by USCIS [ US Citizenship and Immigration Services]?” and “Does this pause on the adjudication of asylum claims apply to noncitizens in immigration court proceedings?”

Stating that “the light of Christ shines in our darkness,” the bishops of strife-torn Haiti called for hope and change in their Christmas message, released on December 8.

The bishops called upon leaders to “rise above partisan interests” and ensure security for scheduled elections in February.

The Vatican’s Secretariat of State and the Dicastery for Communication have, for the first time, made the Annuario Pontificio [Pontifical Yearbook] available online—for a fee of 68.10 euros per year ($79, before processing fees).

“In a time when communication is ever faster and more global, offering immediate and reliable access to information on the life of the Church—with certified data—means putting technology at the service of the ecclesial mission,” said Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra, the Substitute for General Affairs of the Secretariat of State. “It is a sign of attentiveness, transparency, and responsibility towards the Catholic community and towards all those who seek to understand the reality of the Church in the world.”

Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State of His Holiness, is visiting Mozambique to mark the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations.

On December 8, he visited Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province, the site of a brutal Islamist insurgency. “The Holy Father does not forget Cabo Delgado,” Cardinal Parolin said.

Mozambique, a Southeast African nation of 33.4 million (map), is 58% Christian (31% Catholic), 18% Muslim, and 24% ethnic religionist. Pope Francis made an apostolic journey there in 2019.

In a message commemorating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Fu Jen Catholic University in Taiwan, Pope Leo XIV said that the university has the “distinction of being the only institution of higher learning established by the Holy See in the Mandarin-speaking world.”

The Pontiff expressed hope that the “seeds of faith, knowledge, and service that were planted a century ago will continue to bear fruit for future generations.”

The martyrs of Chimbote, Peru—slain by Communist rebels in 1991—“gave a glimpse of the essential message of Christianity,” Pope Leo XIV wrote in a message for the tenth anniversary of their beatification.

The blood of the three missionary priests “was not shed to serve personal plans or ideas, but as a unique offering of love to the Lord and to his people,” Pope Leo wrote. “Their martyrdom shows us—with the authority of life given—what true communion is.”

“As we face the pastoral and cultural challenges confronting the Church, their memory asks us to take a decisive step: to return to Jesus Christ as the measure of our choices, our words and our priorities,” the Pope added.

At the conclusion of his recent jubilee audience, Pope Leo XIV encouraged the practice of the Rorate Mass, the pre-dawn Advent Mass.

“Frequent participation in the Holy Masses of Rorate may help, especially children and young people, to develop the virtue of hope in anticipation of Holy Christmas,” Pope Leo told Polish-speaking pilgrims.

The Holy See Press Office did not include these words of the Pope in its English translation of his remarks.