VATICAN CITY (AP) 鈥 Pope Leo XIV affirmed Friday that the family is founded on the 鈥渟table union between a man and a woman,鈥 and that the unborn and elderly enjoy dignity as God鈥檚 creatures, articulating clear Catholic teaching on marriage and abortion at the start of his pontificate.
Leo, , also called for reviving multilateral diplomacy and promoting dialogue between religions in the search for peace, in his first meeting with the Vatican diplomatic corps. The audience was private, but the Vatican released Leo鈥檚 prepared text and that of the dean of the diplomatic corps.
The encounter is one of the protocol requirements after a conclave, allowing a new pope to greet representatives of world governments ahead of his formal installation Mass this Sunday. The Holy See is a sovereign state under international law, has diplomatic relations with over 180 countries and enjoys observer status at the United Nations.
Leo, a member of the Augustinian religious order, has emphasized peace as a priority of his pontificate, from the first words he uttered on the loggia of St. Peter's Basilica after his May 8 election, 鈥淧eace be with you all.鈥
In his remarks, he said the search for peace was one of the pillars of the papacy. He insisted that peace isn't just the absence of conflict but a 鈥済ift鈥 that requires work, from an end to the production of weapons to choosing words carefully. "For words too, not only weapons, can wound and even kill."
He said it was up to governments to build peaceful societies "above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman.鈥
鈥淚n addition, no one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike,鈥 he said.
Pope Francis strongly reaffirmed core Catholic teaching opposing abortion and euthanasia, saying they were evidence of today鈥檚 鈥渢hrowaway culture.鈥 But he also made a hallmark, insisting they are welcome in the church. He never changed church doctrine defining marriage as a union between man and woman and homosexual acts as 鈥渋ntrinsically disordered.鈥
As the then-head of the Augustinian order, the Rev. Robert Prevost in 2012 criticized the and the role of mass media in promoting acceptance of same-sex relationships that conflicted with Catholic doctrine. A decade later, during Francis鈥 pontificate, he acknowledged Francis鈥 call for a more inclusive church, and said he didn鈥檛 want people excluded just on the basis of their lifestyle.
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