By Kolawole Ojebisi
Pope Leo XIV has called on faithful across the globe to “open borders” of their minds and reject what he described as “exclusionary mindset” to ensure peaceful coexistence.
Leo maintained that the Church “must open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race”.
The Pope made this call in his homily on Sunday, emphasizing the significance of transcendent love which eschews prejudice in all its manifestations.
People must move “beyond our fear of those who are different,” he said, noting that the Holy Spirit “breaks down barriers and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred…”
“Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for ‘security’ zones separating us from our neighbours, for the exclusionary mindset that, tragically, we now see emerging also in political nationalisms.” he said.
The address marked a month since the former Robert Prevost from Chicago was elected pope and came during a Sunday mass to celebrate Pentacost held under sunny skies in St Peter’s Square.
Before mass, the 69-year-old pontiff made a turn around the sprawling Baroque square in his popemobile to the enthusiastic cheers of the crowd, estimated by the Vatican at around 80,000 people.
The pope also said the Holy Spirit was an antidote to toxic relationships marked by “suspicion, prejudice or the desire to manipulate others”.
“With great pain,” Leo cited “cases where relationships are marked by an unhealthy desire for domination, an attitude that often leads to violence, as is shown, tragically, by numerous recent cases of femicide”.
Though Leo did not mention names or identify individual leaders, his focus on barriers and walls evoked the politics of the helmsman of his native country, Donald Trump.
Recall that Trump signed some executive orders promoting nationalism in quick succession after being handed the reins of power by his successor, Joe Biden.
The US President has since vowed to stem illegal immigration into the country.
Since his election, Leo has offered to mediate between leaders of countries at war and earlier this week, he had his first telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
