Pope Leo XIV: Evil is real but does not have the last word

Vatican City, Aug 13, 2025 / 11:12 am (CNA).

Pope Leo XIV during his Wednesday general audience on Aug. 13 said the Gospel does not teach people to deny evil but to recognize its reality as an opportunity for conversion.

Continuing his jubilee catechesis on “Jesus Christ Our Hope,” the Holy Father continued his reflection on the Last Supper recorded in the Gospel of St. Mark.

Though Jesus did not “raise his voice” nor “point his finger” at Judas, Pope Leo said he used “strong words” to reveal the gravity of his betrayal.

“Jesus does not denounce in order to humiliate,” he said. “He speaks the truth because he desires to save.”

Due to the heat, the audience was held in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. The pope also greeted pilgrims who were not able to fit inside the hall and were gathered in other locations to stay out of the extreme temperatures, according to Vatican News.

The Holy Father said Jesus did not speak the truth to “condemn” but to help his disciples be aware that conversion and the “journey of salvation” begins with a sincere acceptance of the truth of one’s own weaknesses and fragility.

“In order to be saved it is necessary to feel that one is involved, to feel that one is beloved despite everything, to feel that evil is real but it does not have the last word,” he said.

“The Gospel does not teach us to deny evil but to recognize it as a painful opportunity for rebirth,” he added.

Exhorting his listeners to not “exclude” themselves from God’s love and salvation, Pope Leo said Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection are reasons to hold on to hope even when faced with one’s own sins and weaknesses.

“Precisely there, at the darkest point, the light is not extinguished,” he said. “On the contrary, it begins to shine.”

“If we recognize our limits, if we let ourselves be touched by the pain of Christ, then we can be finally born again,” he continued.

Toward the end of the Wednesday catechesis, the Holy Father encouraged Christians to “open up a space for truth in our hearts” and to trust Jesus, who never abandoned any of his disciples, even when he knew he would “be left alone” after the Last Supper to endure his passion. 

“Salvation begins here: with the awareness that we may be the ones who break our trust in God but that we can also be the ones who gather it, protect it, and renew it,” Leo said.

“Ultimately, this is hope: knowing that even if we fail, God will never fail us. Even if we betray him, he never stops loving us,” he said.

Source: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/265919/pope-leo-xiv-evil-is-real-but-does-not-have-the-last-word