Pope at Jubilee Audience: Peace Demands Taking a Stand When Human Dignity Is Violated

Vatican City, November 22, 2025: During his Jubilee Audience on Saturday morning, Pope Leo XIV reflected on the life and witness of the Servant of God Dorothy Day, an American Catholic who devoted herself to works of mercy in the early 20th Century. He reminded the faithful that, like Day, Christians are called to promote peace by actively defending and protecting human dignity wherever it is threatened.

Addressing pilgrims gathered in the Vatican, the Pope emphasised that Christians “are to do good, and not hesitate to take a stand for what is right.” He chose to highlight the legacy of Dorothy Day (1897–1980), an influential journalist, activist, and convert to Catholicism who co-founded the Catholic Worker movement during the Great Depression. Day is widely admired for her unwavering commitment to the poor, migrants, and workers, and for embodying the Gospel in a turbulent historical period.

A Call to Faithful and Concrete Commitment

Drawing on the day’s Gospel passage, Pope Leo urged the faithful to show concrete commitment in helping others. He invited them to turn to the Lord to recognise the many gifts they have received, and to learn how to take a stand in their communities to build a society that reflects the love of the Gospel.

In this context, he encouraged Catholics to look to Dorothy Day as a powerful example and source of inspiration.

Transforming Society Through the Example of Christ

“Dorothy had fire within. She took a stand,” the Pope recalled, noting how she recognised that the social and economic systems of her time failed to offer equal opportunities for all. He explained that Day understood how, for many, the dream of prosperity had become a nightmare. As a Christian, she felt compelled to stand with workers, migrants, and those “cast aside by an economy that kills.”

The Pope praised the way Day served with her heart, mind, and hands, transforming “indignation into communion and action.” Her witness, he said, shows how faith can be lived through courageous service.

To hope, Pope Leo added, “is to take a stand, like Jesus, with Jesus. For His fire is our fire.” He expressed his prayer that the Jubilee of Hope would rekindle this same fire within the Church, encouraging the faithful to take courageous and compassionate action in the face of injustice.

Courtesy: Vatican News

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