{"id":24109,"date":"2026-02-20T22:21:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T19:21:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/?p=24109"},"modified":"2026-02-20T22:21:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T19:21:50","slug":"vatican-pope-leo-xiv-calls-lenten-hurtful-words-fast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/2026\/02\/20\/vatican-pope-leo-xiv-calls-lenten-hurtful-words-fast\/","title":{"rendered":"VATICAN: Pope Leo XIV Calls Lenten \u2018Hurtful Words\u2019 Fast"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA<\/em><\/p>\n

Pope Leo XIV had called on all Catholics\u00a0worldwide to embrace a deeper form of fasting this Lenten season, one that extends beyond abstaining from food to include listening and refraining from words that wound and offend others.<\/p>\n

In his annual Lenten\u00a0message<\/a>, the Holy Father urged the faithful to “disarm” their language, asking them to avoid harsh words, rash judgment, slander, and speaking ill of those who cannot defend themselves.<\/p>\n

He asked that this discipline of the tongue be practiced across all areas of life, from family homes and workplaces to social media platforms, political debates, and Christian communities themselves. “Words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace,” he narrated.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur parishes, families, ecclesial groups and religious communities are called to undertake a shared journey during Lent, in which listening to the word of God, as well as to the cry of the poor and of the earth, becomes part of our community life, and fasting a foundation for sincere repentance,\u201d Pope Leo XIV in his message released prior to Ash Wednesday.<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cIn this context, conversion refers not only to one\u2019s conscience, but also to the quality of our relationships and dialogue. It means allowing ourselves to be challenged by reality and recognizing what truly guides our desires, both within our ecclesial communities and as regards humanity\u2019s thirst for justice and reconciliation.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the heart of the message is a call to listening, which the head of the Catholic Church describes as the first and most essential step toward genuine conversion.<\/p>\n

Drawing on the Book of Exodus, the Pontiff recalls how God himself modeled the virtue of listening by hearing the cry of the oppressed Israelites in Egypt, and responding with a plan for their liberation. In the same way, he said, Catholics must cultivate an inner openness to hear the suffering of others, particularly the poor.<\/p>\n

In his message, Pope Leo XIV framed traditional fasting from food as a spiritual exercise that helps the faithful recognize what they \u201chunger\u201d for, bringing order to their desires and keeping their thirst for justice alive.<\/p>\n

However, the holy Father noted that fasting must be rooted in humility and faith rather than pride, warning that those who cannot nourish themselves on the word of God “do not fast properly.”<\/p>\n

The Pope reminded parishes, families, and religious communities that Lent is not a private spiritual exercise but a shared journey. Referencing the Book of Nehemiah, where the people of Israel gathered together to listen to the public reading of the Law, fasting collectively as they renewed their covenant with God.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us ask for the grace of a Lent that leads us to greater attentiveness to God and to the least among us. Let us ask for the strength that comes from the type of fasting that also extends to our use of language, so that hurtful words may diminish and give way to a greater space for the voice of others,\u201d The Pope emphasized and concluded, \u201cLet us strive to make our communities places where the cry of those who suffer finds welcome, and listening opens paths towards liberation, making us ready and eager to contribute to building a civilization of love.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA Pope Leo XIV had called on all Catholics\u00a0worldwide to embrace…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":24073,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amecea-news","category-vatican"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24109","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24109"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24109\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24110,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24109\/revisions\/24110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24109"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24109"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communications.amecea.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24109"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}