Pope stresses urgency of transmitting the faith with Christ at its center

The Pope received in audience the workers of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, to whom he addressed words of appreciation for the work they perform at the service of the universal Church. During the meeting, the Pontiff underscored “the valuable service they perform in order - as the Constitution states Praedicate Evangelium- to ‘assist the Roman Pontiff and the bishops in the proclamation of the Gospel throughout the world, promoting and safeguarding the integrity of Catholic doctrine on faith and morals, based on the deposit of faith and seeking an ever deeper understanding of new questions’ (n. 69)”.

Latest documents of the dicastery

In his address, the Pope reviewed the main documents published by the dicastery in 2024 and 2025. However, he did not mention the document Fiducia Supplicans, published on December 18, 2023, which sparked a wide debate in the Church.

Among the texts cited are the Note Gestis verbisque, on the Validity of the Sacraments (February 2, 2024); the Declaration on the Validity of the Sacraments (February 2, 2024); the Declaration on the Validity of the Dignitas infinita, on Human Dignity (April 2, 2024); the Guidelines for the discernment of suspected supernatural phenomena (May 17, 2024); the Note The Queen of Peace (September 19, 2024); the Note Antiqua et nova (January 28, 2025), dedicated to the relationship between artificial intelligence and human intelligence; the Doctrinal note Mater Populi fidelis, on Marian Titles (November 4, 2025); and, finally, the Doctrinal Note An expensive one. In praise of monogamy, on the value of Marriage as an exclusive union between a man and a woman (November 25, 2025).

The transmission of faith

In the current context of changing times, the Holy Father appreciated the fact that the plenary meeting of the members of the Dicastery reflected on the theme of the transmission of the faith, which he described as a “matter of great urgency in our time”.

According to Leo XIV, it cannot be “ignored that there has been a generational rupture in the transmission of the Christian faith, especially among the new generations who no longer perceive the Gospel as a fundamental resource for their existence”.

Following the magisterium of Pope Francis, the Pontiff recalled that “we want to be a Church that does not look only at herself, that is missionary, that looks beyond, to others; a Church that proclaims the Gospel through the power of attraction. It is not the Church that attracts, but Christ”.

The exclusive protagonism of Christ

Pope Leo XIV reminded us that the Church must not proclaim herself, but Christ, the source of all true missionary attraction.

In his speech, he warned against personal protagonism and stressed that each baptized person must maintain the identity of a «simple and humble worker in the vineyard of the Lord,» leaving it to the charity of Christ to act through ecclesial mediation.

Abuse case management

Before concluding the meeting, the Pope referred to another of the main responsibilities of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith: the management of abuse cases from all over the world. In this context, he emphasized its role in supporting bishops and superiors general, stressing that “it is a very delicate area where it is fundamental that the demands of justice, truth and charity are always honored.”.