Pope Leo XIV to John Paul II Institute: Your mission is to speak and live the truth Pope Leo XIV during a Friday audience at the Vatican reminded teachers and students from the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and the Family of their mission to both speak and live the \u201ccommon witness to the truth.\u201d \u201cYour specific mission concerns the search for and common witness to the truth: in carrying out this task, theology is called to engage with the various disciplines that study marriage and the family, without being content merely to speak the truth about them but living it in the grace of the Holy Spirit and following the example of Christ, who revealed the Father to us through his actions and words,\u201d he said in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace on Oct. 24. In Leo\u2019s audience with the institute \u2014 controversially re-founded by Pope Francis in 2017 to include the study of social sciences in addition to moral theology \u2014 he said the faithful \u201ccannot ignore the tendency in many parts of the world to disregard or even reject marriage.\u201d \u201cEven when young people make choices that do not correspond to the ways proposed by the Church according to the teaching of Jesus, the Lord continues to knock at the door of their hearts, preparing them to receive a new interior call,\u201d the pontiff said. \u201cIf your theological and pastoral research is rooted in prayerful dialogue with the Lord, you will find the courage to invent new words that can deeply touch the consciences of young people.\u201d He added that our time is marked not just by tension and confusing ideologies but also by \u201ca growing search for spirituality, truth, and justice, especially among young people.\u201d \u201cWelcoming and caring for this desire is one of the most beautiful and urgent tasks for all of us,\u201d Leo said. In May, Pope Leo made one of his first personnel appointments as pope when he named Cardinal Baldassare Reina grand chancellor of the John Paul II Institute, replacing Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, who turned 80 on April 20. Reina, 54, has been vicar general of the Diocese of Rome since 2024. As part of that role, he is also grand chancellor of the Pontifical Lateran University, the home of the John Paul II Institute. Pope Leo\u2019s appointment of Reina as grand chancellor appeared to be a return to the former practice of linking the leadership of the institute to the vicar general of Rome. This practice had been changed under Pope Francis, who named Paglia to the role in 2016. In his address to students and teachers on Friday, Leo pointed out the institute\u2019s commitment to deepening the link between the family and the social doctrine of the Church and urged them to let their studies of family experiences and dynamics enrich their understanding of the Church\u2019s social teaching. \u201cThis focus would allow us to develop the insight, recalled by the Second Vatican Council and repeatedly reaffirmed by my predecessors, of seeing the family as the first cell of society, as the original and fundamental school of humanity,\u201d he said. He also recalled Pope Francis\u2019 encouragement to women expecting a child in his 2016 apostolic exhortation Amoris Laetitia. \u201c[Francis\u2019] words contain a simple and profound truth: Human life is a gift and must always be welcomed with respect, care, and gratitude,\u201d Leo said. Recalling that many women face pregnancy in situations of loneliness or marginalization, the pontiff called on the civil and Church communities to \u201cconstantly strive to restore full dignity to motherhood\u201d through concrete actions, including \u201cpolicies that guarantee adequate living and working conditions; educational and cultural initiatives that recognize the beauty of creating life together; a pastoral approach that accompanies women and men with closeness and listening.\u201d \u201cMotherhood and fatherhood, thus safeguarded, are not burdens on society but rather a hope that strengthens and renews it,\u201d he said. This article was originally published by CNA. Receive the most important news from EWTN Vatican via WhatsApp. It has become increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social media. 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