Pope Leo XIV warned today that the lack of forgiveness corrupts social peace and multiplies conflicts, during the recitation of the Angelus in St. Peter's Square, at the Vatican. Before thousands of people gathered, the Pope stated that without forgiveness "one cannot live in peace" and that "sooner or later, in the heart and among people, conflicts, accusations, resentments and acts of revenge arise that destroy relationships, divide families and trigger wars."
The Pope spoke from the window of the papal apartment, commenting on the Sunday Gospel passage in which the apostle Peter questions Jesus about the limit of forgiveness. Christ's response established the need to forgive "seventy times seven," an attitude that goes "beyond any limit."
Leo XIV illustrated the teaching with the parable of the servant who received the remission of an incalculable debt through "pure mercy," but refused the same compassion to a companion, subsequently being punished. The Pope declared that "everything is given to us by God in an act of pure love" and that divine gratuitousness represents "the best rule for human coexistence."
The Pope also evoked Saint Peter's own experience, who benefited from this "charity that forgets and heals" in the reunion with the risen Jesus after having abandoned him during the Passion. The address ended with a prayer to Our Lady, asking for courage to take "the first step" in personal reconciliation and disarm "all resentment."
