Pope Leo's message at the end of the year: “We see armed strategies, masked by hypocritical speeches and false religious motives”

Pope Leo XIV ended the year he was elected head of the Catholic Church on Wednesday by warning, as the new year begins, of plans to “conquer” the world through “armed strategies masked by hypocritical speeches.”

“Brothers and sisters, at this moment we feel the need for a wise, benevolent and merciful plan; may it be a free and liberating, peaceful and faithful plan”, said the pope in his homily during the First Vespers prayer, in St. Peter's Basilica, reports Agerpres.

At the same time, the pope warned that “other plans, today as in the past, encompass the world”. These “are rather strategies aimed at conquering markets, territories and spheres of influence. Armed strategies, masked by hypocritical speeches, ideological proclamations and false religious motives”, warned the pope in front of the thousands of believers present.

Leo XIV, elected pontiff in May, after the death of Pope Francis, presided for the first time in St. Peter's Basilica the last service of the year, during which the hymn “Te Deum” is traditionally sung, as a sign of gratitude for the past year.

Reading the epistle to the Galatians of the Holy Apostle Paul inspired the pontiff to see a “great and mysterious” divine plan, which is the basis of the entire history of humanity.

“God loves to hope with the hearts of the little ones and he does it by involving them in his plan of salvation. The more beautiful the plan, the greater the hope. The world goes forward like this, propelled by the hope of so many simple people, who are unknown, but not to God, who, despite everything, believe in a better future, because they know that the future is in the hands of the one who offers them the greatest hope,” said the pope.

In this sense, Pope Leo XIV alluded to the Jubilee, the Holy Year inaugurated by his predecessor, Pope Francis, which he will close on January 6. The Jubilee Year 2025 attracted tens of millions of pilgrims from all over the world to Rome.

The Pope, who is also the bishop of Rome, also expressed his hope that the Eternal City “will live up to expectations” for its most vulnerable citizens: children, the elderly who live alone and frail, families in need and men and women “who have come from afar in search of a dignified life”.

The celebrations from the Christmas period will continue in the new year, on Thursday, in the Vatican basilica, with the liturgy of the solemnity “Blessed Mary, Mother of God”, which every year coincides with the World Day of Peace.