Builders of Integration

Pope Leo XIV sent a video message to the rectors of 200 universities in North, South and Central America, and the Iberian Peninsula, gathered at the Pontifical Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro from 20 to 24 May, to mark the 10th anniversary of the Encyclical, Laudato Si’.

Organized by the Network of Universities for the Care of Our Common Home with the support of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, the event was an opportunity to engage in dialogue and discernment and to suggest actions to counteract the socio-environmental crisis.

Speaking in Spanish, the Holy Father expressed his joy at the Network’s commitment to “engaging in a synodal work of discernment in preparation for COP30” and their reflection “on a possible remission of the public debt and of the ecological debt, a proposal that Pope Francis had suggested in his message for World Day of Peace”. This message, he stressed, is even more important during this Jubilee Year of Hope.

Addressing the university rectors directly, Pope Leo XIV said, “I want to offer encouragement in the mission you have embraced: to be builders of bridges of integration between the Americas and with the Iberian Peninsula, working for ecological, social, and environmental justice”. After thanking them for their work, Pope Leo imparted his blessing.