On Friday, the day after he was elected as the first pope from the United States, Pope Leo XIV told cardinals that he intended to correct the notion that Jesus Christ was simply a “charismatic leader or superman.”
As he celebrated his first Mass in the Sistine Chapel, Leo also opined that many people across the world consider the Christian faith “absurd,” the Associated Press reported.
“This is true not only among non-believers but also among many baptized Christians, who thus end up living, at this level, in a state of practical atheism,” he stated. “Yet, precisely for this reason, they are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. A lack of faith is often tragically accompanied by the loss of meaning in life, the neglect of mercy, appalling violations of human dignity, the crisis of the family and so many other wounds that afflict our society.”
