Pope Leo urges outreach to distant families

Pope Leo on Monday called on the Church to be “farsighted” in addressing modern spiritual challenges and to reach out to families who feel excluded from faith communities.

In a message to a seminar on evangelization and family, the Pope said the Church must connect with those “spiritually most distant from us,” who may feel uninvolved yet still seek belonging.

“How many of these people,” he asked, “simply do not hear the invitation to encounter God?”

He warned of the “privatization” of faith and reliance on “false footholds” shaped by media and illusionary lifestyles. Instead, he said, the Church must be a “‘fisher’ of humanity,” offering a true encounter with Christ.

“Faith is primarily a response to Christ’s love,” the Pope said, lamenting that Christianity is too often presented as “a moralistic, burdensome, and unappealing tradition.”

Pope Leo called on bishops and laypeople alike to help others “embrace the faith, and become, in turn, ‘fishers’ of other families,” and urged openness to “new ways of seeing things and different ways of acting.”

He concluded by praying that the Holy Spirit guide those working to support the Church’s mission to families.