The Church cannot close its eyes to cries for help, says Pope Leo
Pope Leo XIV says the Church cannot continue to close its eyes to the call for help, especially by young people, as he addresses participants in the Jubilee of the World of Education in St Peter’s Square, calling for interiority, unity, love, and hope to become key elements of educational practice.
The Pope says true teachers teach with a smile, and their challenge is to awaken smiles deep within the souls of their students. According to him, today’s educational environments increasingly show signs of widespread inner fragility at all ages. “We cannot close our eyes to these silent cries for help. We must instead strive to identify their deepest causes.”
The Pope also warn that Artificial intelligence (AI) with its technical, and standardized knowledge, risks isolating already-isolated students even further, by giving them the illusion that they do not need others — or worse, that they are not worthy of them.
The Pope stated that educator’s role is one of human engagement. “The very joy of the educational process is profoundly human, a flame that fuses souls together and makes them one.”
Drawing on a saying of Saint Augustine, Pope reminded his audience that it is a mistake to think that beautiful words or well-equipped classrooms, laboratories, and libraries are enough to teach students. “These are merely means and physical spaces, useful indeed, but the teacher is within; the deep encounter between persons — without which every educational proposal is doomed to fail.”
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According to Pope Leo, students today need help to come into contact with their inner selves, and emphasising the challenge of superficiality in a world dominated by screens and technological filters. “Only this humble and shared effort, which in the school setting takes the form of an educational project, can bring students and teachers closer to the truth.”
The Pope also urged teachers to show love to students, stating that sharing knowledge alone is not enough. He stated that teaching will be truly fruitful only when love is involved; not only in its content, but in the charity it conveys.
“Teaching can never be separated from love, and one of the challenges of our societies today is that we no longer sufficiently value the immense contribution that teachers and educators make to the community in this regard.”
