Pope Leo XIV on Friday urged Christians to resist the temptation to treat others as enemies, saying the mystery of Christmas calls believers to recognize the God-given dignity of every person, even in their adversaries.
“Christians, however, have no enemies, but brothers and sisters, who remain so even when they do not understand each other,” the pope said Dec. 26 during his Angelus address from the Apostolic Palace on the feast of St. Stephen, the Church’s first martyr.
Leo acknowledged that “those who believe in peace and have chosen the unarmed path of Jesus and the martyrs are often ridiculed, excluded from public discourse,” and sometimes even “accused of favoring adversaries and enemies.” Yet, he said Christian joy is sustained by “the tenacity of those who already live in fraternity.”
Reflecting on St. Stephen’s martyrdom, the pope noted that early Christians spoke of the saint’s “birthday,” convinced “that we are not born just once” and that “martyrdom is a birth into heaven.”
Citing the Acts of the Apostles, Leo recalled that those who witnessed Stephen’s trial and death “saw that his face was like the face of an angel” (Acts 6:15), calling it “the face of one who does not leave history indifferently but responds to it with love.”
The pope linked Stephen’s witness to the meaning of Christmas, saying “the birth of the Son of God among us calls us to live as children of God,” drawing believers through the humility of Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds of Bethlehem.
At the same time, he said, the beauty of Christ and of those who imitate him can be rejected because it exposes injustice and threatens those “who struggle for power.”
“To this day, however, no power can prevail over the work of God,” Leo said, pointing to people around the world who choose justice “even at great cost,” who “put peace before their fears,” and who serve the poor.
“In the current conditions of uncertainty and suffering in the world, joy might seem impossible,” he added, but insisted hope still “sprouts” and “it makes sense to celebrate despite everything.”
The pope said Stephen’s final act of forgiveness mirrors Jesus’ own, flowing from “a force more real than that of weapons,” a “gratuitous force” rekindled when people learn to look at their neighbor with “attention and recognition.”
“Yes, this is what it means to be reborn, to come once more into the light, this is our ‘Christmas!’” he said.
After the Angelus, Leo renewed his Christmas wishes “for peace and serenity,” greeted pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square, and asked St. Stephen’s intercession for persecuted Christians and communities suffering for their faith. He also encouraged those working amid conflict to pursue “dialogue, reconciliation, and peace.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.