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Pope Leo’s General Audience
Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Catechesis. The Documents of the Second Vatican Council.
IV. Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes (GS, 23-32).
3. The human community
Scripture reading – Genesis 1:26-28
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.”
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”
Pope Leo’s General Audience
Brothers and sisters,
The Constitution Gaudium et Spes (GS) dedicates the second chapter to the “human community” and invites us to consider “the growing interdependence of men” as “one of the salient features of the modern world” (no. 23).
However, this reality must find fulfillment “on a deeper level … of this communion between persons,” which requires “mutual respect for the full spiritual dignity of the person.”
In our times, these statements have taken on even greater urgency.
Technological development, the spread of mass and social media, and the ever-increasing use of artificial intelligence are opening up new possibilities, breaking down barriers, and bridging distances.
However, relationships are becoming less personal and more virtual.
There is a risk of becoming accustomed to delegating decisions that are the sole preserve of the human conscience to algorithms.
In this regard, ensuring that social relationships have real substance and personal depth is the contribution that the Christian community seeks to offer.
The Council invites us to derive criteria and strength from God’s creative plan.
In this plan, God willed that “all people should be one family and treat each other as brothers,” which is why “loving God and neighbor is the first and greatest commandment.”
This commandment found its full revelation and complete fulfillment in Christ. (GS, 24).
The perfection of the human person and the development of society are closely interdependent.
Setting them against each other or separating them would render them meaningless.
History, even recent history, clearly confirms this truth.
Therefore, we must never tire of reiterating the words of the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council: “The subject and goal of all social institutions is and must be the human person, which, by its very nature, stands completely in need of social life.” (GS, 25)
From this perspective, Gaudium et Spes affirms that the diversity of people and cultures around the world should not be viewed as a danger or threat, but rather as an opportunity for growth and enrichment.
Conflict, which sometimes devolves into violence, stems from the power of sin and how it influences mindsets and actions at every level, resulting in destruction and death.
We must be increasingly open to the logic of reciprocity, sharing, and care, as is the case among the various members of the human body.
(1 Cor 12:21-25 – The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body which seem to be weaker are indispensable, and those parts of the body which we think less honorable we invest with the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so adjusted the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part,that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.).).
On this point, the Pastoral Constitution also offers a concise definition of the “common good”, recalling that it consists of “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment” (GS, 26).
At the same time, it acknowledges the interdependence among peoples and states that “every social group must take into account the needs and legitimate aspirations of other groups, as well as the general welfare of the entire human family.” (GS, 26).
Starting from this premise, the Council Fathers set out some “practical and particularly urgent consequences” (GS, 27).
First and foremost, respect for the human person. Gaudium et Spes states: “
Whatever is opposed to life itself, such as any type of murder, genocide, abortion, euthanasia or wilfull self-destruction, whatever violates the integrity of the human person, such as mutilation, torments inflicted on body or mind, attempts to coerce the will itself; whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children; as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are infamies indeed” (ibid.).
The second consequence is respect and love for our adversaries and for those who think and act differently from us (cf. GS 28).
Thirdly, the fundamental equality of all human beings demands social justice. The document states: “All types of discrimination, whether social or cultural, based on sex, race, color, social condition, language, or religion, must be overcome and eradicated because they are contrary to God’s intent” (GS 29)
Finally, the Council Fathers urge us to overcome our individualistic mindset and adopt an attitude of responsibility and participation. (cf. GS, 30-31).
Dear brothers and sisters,
The Second Vatican Council left us with the valuable legacy of viewing humanity as a “community of people.”
It encourages us to engage in personal and communal discernment so that we can responsibly evaluate today’s social and political projects based on the dignity of the human person, social justice, and free participation in constructing the common good.
The future of humanity depends on each person’s commitment to collaborating with God and their brothers and sisters to build a more humane world. (GS, 30).
Summary of the Holy Father’s words:
Dear brothers and sisters,
In our ongoing catechesis on the Second Vatican Council’s document Gaudium et Spes, we will focus today on the importance of human relationships.
Our understanding of human community is rooted in the dignity of the human person. Instead of viewing differences as a danger or threat, the vision of humanity as a community of individuals allows us to collaborate in seeking the common good.
Social relationships are enriched with real substance and personal depth when we move beyond an individualistic mindset and adopt an attitude of responsibility and participation in building a more humane and just world.
Likewise, they contribute to the fulfillment of each individual and the development of society.
Dear brothers and sisters, let us renew our commitment to realizing the precious gift of our humanity in Christ.
