Full text of Pope Leo XIV speech to justice operators

This Saturday, September 20, the Pope met in the Plaza de San Pedro with thousands of participants of the Jubilee of Justice Operators. Next, the full text of the message that Leo XIV addressed to the pilgrims:

Very good morning to all! Good morning and welcome!

Dear brothers and sisters:

I am glad to receive them on the occasion of the jubilee dedicated to those who, in different ways, work in the wide field of justice. I greet the distinguished authorities present, coming from many countries on behalf of different courts, and all of you who do a necessary service for the orderly relationship between people, communities and states every day.

I also greet the other pilgrims who have joined this jubilee. The jubilee makes us all in pilgrims who, by rediscovering the signs of hope that does not disappoint, wish to “recover the necessary trust – both in the Church as in society – in interpersonal ties, in international relations, in the promotion of the dignity of every person and in the respect of creation” (Bula of convocation of the jubilee, 25).

What better occasion to reflect more closely about justice and its function, which we know is indispensable both for the orderly development of society and cardinal virtue that inspires and guides the awareness of each man and woman.

Justice, in effect, is called to fulfill a superior function in human coexistence, which cannot be reduced to the simple application of the law or the work of the judges, or limit itself to the procedural aspects.

“You love justice and hate iniquity” (Ps 45,8), reminds us of biblical expression, urging each of us to do good and avoid evil. Or also, how much wisdom contains the maximum “give each one what is yours”! And yet, all this does not exhaust the deep desire of the fair thing that is in each of us, that thirst for justice that is the key instrument to build the common good in every human society.

In justice the dignity of the person, their relationship with the other and the dimension of the community made of coexistence, structures and common rules are joined. A circularity of the social relationship that puts in the center the value of each human being, which must be protected through justice against the different conflicts that may arise in individual action, or in the loss of common sense that can even affect institutions and structures.

Tradition teaches us that justice is, above all, a virtue, that is, a firm and stable disposition that guides our behavior according to reason and faith. The virtue of justice, in particular, consists of the “constant and firm will to give to God and neighbor what is due to them.”

In this perspective, for the believer, justice provides “to respect the rights of each one and to establish in human relations the harmony that promotes equity with respect to people and the common good”, an objective that guarantees an order in defense of the weak, of the one who asks for justice because he is a victim of oppression, exclusion or indifference.

There are many evangelical episodes in which human action is evaluated from a justice capable of defeating the evil of abuse, as recalls the insistence of the widow that makes the judge recover the sense of fairness (cf. Lc 18,1-8).

But also a superior justice that pays the worker of the last hour just like the one who worked all day (cf. Mt 20,1-16); or the one that makes mercy the key to interpret the relationship and leads to forgive welcoming the son who was lost and found (cf. Lc 15,11-32), or even more, to forgive not seven times, but seventy times seven (cf. Mt 18,21-35). It is the strength of forgiveness, typical of the commandment of love, which appears as a constitutive element of a justice capable of joining the supernatural with the human.

Evangelical justice, then, does not depart from human justice, but interrogates and transforms it: it encourages it to always go further, because it guides it towards the search for reconciliation.

Evil must not only be sanctioned, but also repaired, and for this a deep look at the good of people and the common good is necessary. It is a difficult task, but not impossible for those who, aware of performing a more demanding service than others, undertakes to maintain an impeccable life.

As we know, justice becomes concrete when it is oriented towards others, when each one is given what corresponds to it, until reaching equality in dignity and opportunities among human beings. We are aware, however, that real equality is not merely formal before the law.

This equality, although indispensable for the correct exercise of justice, does not eliminate the fact that there are increasing discriminations whose first effect is precisely the lack of access to justice.

True equality, on the other hand, is the possibility that everyone can carry out their aspirations and see the rights inherent in their dignity, backed by a system of common and shared values, capable of inspiring norms and laws that sustain the functioning of the institutions.

Today, what questioning justice operators is precisely the search or recovery of forgotten values ​​in coexistence, their care and respect. It is a necessary process, in the face of the expansion of behaviors and strategies that show contempt for human life since its inception, which deny fundamental rights for personal existence and do not respect the awareness of freedom.

Precisely through the values ​​that are at the base of social life, justice assumes its central role in the coexistence of human people and communities. As San Agustín wrote: “Justice can only be prudent, strong and temperate.” This requires the ability to always think in the light of truth and wisdom, to interpret the law going beyond the purely formal, to capture the deep meaning of the truth we serve.

Tender towards justice, then, requires loving it as a reality that only reaches if constant attention, radical disinterest and a persevering discernment are united. Who exercises justice is put at the service of people, the people and the state, with full and constant dedication. The greatness of justice does not decrease when it is applied in small, but always stands out when it is exercised fidelity to the right and respect to the person, anywhere in the world.

“Blessed are those who are hungry and thirst for justice, because they will be satiated” (Mt 5,6). With this bliss, the Lord Jesus wanted to express the spiritual tension to which it is necessary to be open, not only to achieve true justice, but above all to seek it, in particular, those who must apply it in the different historical situations.

Having “hunger and thirst” of justice means being aware that it demands the personal effort to interpret the law in the most human way possible, but also asks to aspire to a “satiety” that can only be fulfilled in a greater justice, which transcends particular situations.

Dear friends, the jubilee also invites us to reflect on an aspect of justice that is often not addressed enough: the reality of so many countries and peoples that are “hungry and thirst for justice”, because their living conditions are so unfair and inhuman that they are unacceptable.

To the current international panorama, these always valid statements should be applied: «A State cannot be governed without justice. Because where there is no justice there can not be a right either. What is done as law is done with justice. But what is unfairly done is impossible that it is according to law. (…) Where there is no justice there is no condition. Justice, on the other hand, is the virtue that gives each one. Now, what human justice is the one who starts the man of the true God?

The demanding words of St. Augustine inspire us all to always give the best in the exercise of justice at the service of the people, with the eye on God, to fully respect the justice, law and dignity of people.

With this desire, I thank you and bless each of you, your families and your work.