Pope at Angelus: Without forgiveness we cannot live in peace
Pope Leo XIV’s Angelus message stresses that forgiveness is essential for peace, warning that grudges and vengeance can lead to conflict and war. He cites the Gospel of Matthew, where Jesus says forgiveness should be limitless, using 70 times 7 to symbolize fullness. The Pope highlights the parable of the forgiven servant to illustrate that receiving God’s mercy obliges us to extend the same mercy to others. He refers to Peter’s experience of Jesus’ forgiveness after his denial, showing how divine forgiveness can restore relationships and strengthen one’s mission.
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Pope Leo XIV used his September 13 Angelus address to present forgiveness as essential to Christian life and peaceful coexistence. Reflecting on Jesus’ teaching that forgiveness must be offered “seventy times seven,” he connected mercy received from God with the duty to forgive others. 1
The Pope warned that unresolved conflicts, accusations, grudges and vengeance damage relationships, divide families and can contribute to war. He said forgiveness frees people from resentment and restores hope even amid material and moral hardship. 1
He urged Catholics to ask the Virgin Mary, described as the Mother of Mercy, for the courage and perseverance to forgive—even when taking the first step is difficult—and to spread a love capable of overcoming hatred. 1
The address focused on Matthew’s account of Peter asking Jesus whether forgiving someone seven times was sufficient. Leo XIV explained that seven symbolizes fullness in biblical language, while Jesus’ response—“seventy times seven”—calls Christians to forgive without limits or calculation. 1
The Pope also reflected on the parable of the servant whose enormous debt was forgiven by his master, but who refused to show comparable mercy to another servant. He said the story illustrates that God’s gifts and forgiveness are the foundation of human existence, and that gratuitousness should guide life in community. 1
Leo XIV highlighted Peter’s experience after denying Jesus during the Passion. When the risen Christ later asked Peter whether he loved him and again invited him to follow, the Pope said Jesus’ forgiving love treated the disciple as though the denial had not defined him. 1
According to the Pope, that forgiveness healed Peter and confirmed his mission as the first of the Apostles. He also recalled Jesus’ prayer from the cross for his persecutors as another example of forgiveness at the heart of Christian teaching. 1
The Angelus was recited at noon on Sunday, September 13, with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square. Vatican News described the Pope’s address as taking place in the square, while ZENIT reported that he prayed from the balcony of the papal apartment. 1
Forgiveness is essential for peace and Christian mission
Forgiveness is essential for both peace and Christian mission because it breaks the cycle of hatred and makes reconciliation possible. The Church teaches that true peace is not merely the absence of conflict; it requires restored relationships with God and with one another.
Christians forgive because they have first received God’s forgiveness. In the Our Father, asking God to forgive us is inseparably linked to forgiving others. Thus, reconciliation with God becomes reconciliation with our brothers and sisters, making Christians peacemakers and witnesses to God’s Kingdom.
Forgiveness is not weakness, forgetfulness, or indifference toward evil. It demands moral courage and can coexist with truth and justice. Victims have a right to truth, and those responsible for crimes must be held accountable; nevertheless, forgiveness prevents justice from becoming revenge and opens a path toward healing and renewed solidarity.
This is also the heart of Christian mission. Christ sends his disciples to serve, seek the distant, and bring peace to everyone—not only to those who belong to their own group. Christians are therefore called to be “missionaries of peace,” breaking the circle of violence and witnessing to fraternity, love, and forgiveness.
The Church’s credibility depends on embodying the peace she proclaims. Having been forgiven, Christians must forgive; having received reconciliation, they must become agents of reconciliation in families, parishes, societies, and nations.
In short: forgiveness heals the wounds of the past, justice protects the dignity of the wounded, and mission carries Christ’s peace to the world.