In a world contrary to the ideals of Peace, a new Pope does not hesitate to proclaim it loudly and decisively. Like his predecessor, Pope Francis, Leo XIV is a man who believes in building bridges to achieve it. Both are convinced that every place and every person is an instrument of peace if they put their gifts at the service of others. There is no one path to peace; peace is, in itself, the path.

Pope Francis used to say that truth is like a polyhedron in which each person, from their own perspective, sees a different side, and together we can better complement the vision we have held individually. It happens then that when we strive on the path of building bridges, frank and respectful dialogue becomes the backbone; Without it, we become disjointed as a whole and become only a part, and that is when personal interests arise that prevent us from seeing and safeguarding the Common Good.

If dialogue is the methodology, then truth, justice, and the defense of the dignity of all people are the instruments with which peace is built. The new Pope has announced this and firmly believes it. A man sensitive to his environment and with a penetrating view of reality that sees it from the tenderness of God.

The current configuration of the world often does not allow for these conditions: the extreme poverty that lacerates millions of brothers and sisters and that has ceased to be a rural problem to become an urban drama that plays out daily before our eyes; the environmental problem that has led many people to migrate from their regions of origin due to major floods, severe droughts, crop failures, mental health problems, or risks to their physical health, etc. The challenges that technology presents us with, including Artificial Intelligence, can serve either as a tool to contribute to the care and protection of Creation or become a throne for the domination of peoples through the generation of knowledge that is transformed into power. Economies and political systems that privilege accumulation over sobriety, that exclude those outside the utilitarian and mercantilist logic, ideologies and polarizations from one end of the planet to the other, and, above all, a profound anthropological and social crisis that has discarded the family as a nucleus of love and solidarity.

These and many more are nothing more than obstacles to Peace, and therefore, each one, individually, invites an integrative perspective that delves into the true causes—the root causes—of these problems so that, from there, we can address them and rebuild the human person and the Common Home that shelters us harmoniously and peacefully.

At the heart of Pope Leo XIV’s initial message, there is no lukewarmness, only a profound humility that knows how to listen, an enormous mercy that never tires of conveying that God loves us unconditionally beyond our limitations, as well as a deep and sincere gratitude for the path taken by Pope Francis on the issues mentioned.

Reasons to hope: many, reasons to keep moving forward, all of them! Today we do not open a new era; we continue in the “eternal” time of the journey of faith, with a Pope who reminds us that we walk together and that it is in our differences that we are deeply loved.

It is up to us to reaffirm and strengthen our commitment as an open community, one that welcomes and builds bridges, that reaches out and reaches out to those in need of charity and care, and that knows that it is called to be the “light” of Christ and His Resurrection.