Pope Leo XIV urges priority for people over borders and institutions in Rimini address

Address in Rimini

Pope Leo XIV addressed an audience of approximately 5,000 participants on Saturday, 22 August 2026, at the Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples in Rimini, central Italy. Speaking to the international gathering, the pontiff encouraged attendees to focus on the fundamental bonds that unite human beings across cultural divisions and political separations. He stated that genuine dialogue and personal encounter must take precedence over formal political structures. In his remarks, the Pope noted that peace is preserved and spread by individuals who actively seek to assemble and who do not fear direct conversation with others. He maintained that human connection enables empathy and mutual understanding across national borders.

We can identify with one another, listen to one another and become friends, between people and, consequently, also between peoples. Before borders, definitions, and institutions, there are always people.

The realism of mercy

The pontiff addressed rising global hostility by warning against the logic of confrontation and retaliation. He noted that following Jesus Christ in the wake of twentieth-century tragedies requires a clear recognition that evil cannot be combated with evil. Pope Leo XIV challenged what he described as a false realism that currently re-arms minds, words, and nations across the world. In response to this posture, he argued that Catholic culture must advance an alternative framework rooted in reconciliation rather than hostility. Under this approach, adversaries must not be treated as permanent enemies, but as brothers and sisters with whom truth must be pursued.

Following Jesus Christ after the tragedies and the new beginnings of the twentieth century implies, in fact, a lucid awareness: evil is not fought with evil.

Reforming power structures and technology

Pope Leo XIV called for a comprehensive examination and purification of daily habits, economic interests, and social institutions influenced by what he termed the culture of power. He urged participants to challenge unjust power dynamics within their own workplaces and civic organizations, linking these imbalances directly to poverty, inequality, warfare, and environmental destruction. The address outlined a series of institutional reforms needed across public life, advocating for coexistence freed from distrust, culture freed from arrogance, and education freed from ideological constraints. Furthermore, the Pope called for economic and financial activities to be liberated from the idolatry of profit and the business of death. He also specifically addressed the unchecked expansion of destructive technological tools, calling for technological developments to be disarmed when they become omnipresent and harmful.

A choice between two paths

In the concluding portion of his address, the Pope called on the audience to reject widespread feelings of fatigue and pessimism about global developments. He urged communities to cultivate active hope rather than letting resignation dictate the trajectory of future generations. According to Pope Leo XIV, society faces a fundamental choice between two mutually incompatible trajectories in public and spiritual life. One path exploits division, alienation, and despair for narrow interests, while the other dedicates itself to the service of the kingdom of God and justice. He appealed to listeners to actively revive constructive dreams and shared visions for international cooperation rather than fueling societal despair.

Let there not only be those who fan the fire of weariness and despair; let there also be those who revive dreams and visions!