Pope Leo XIV addressed pilgrims at his general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, September 9, 2026, according to ewtnnews.com. The pontiff continued his catechetical teaching on the Second Vatican Council’s constitution Gaudium et Spes, focusing on the foundations of human dignity and the responsibility each person bears toward others.

The Pope emphasized that human dignity arises from the fact that each person is made in God’s image and possesses the capacity to know and love the Creator. He stressed that authentic personhood cannot be understood apart from relationship and communion with God and with others. “The person always implies relationship, communion, and participation in relation to God and to others,” the Pope told the gathered faithful.

Drawing on his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV warned that contemporary culture often loses sight of the divine source of human worth. He called for overcoming what he described as dualistic views that separate body from soul, noting that reducing the body to an object denies the full dignity of the person.

The Pope underscored that human dignity “excludes self-centered isolation” and instead demands that each person recognize themselves as a gift meant to be shared. “This dignity is entrusted to the responsibility of each person: at the same time, it also demands solidarity and mutual care,” he told the EWTN News.

Pope Leo XIV presented decisions that contradict human dignity as a source of humanity’s inner division. His remarks reflected the Church’s longstanding teaching that respect for the dignity of every human person forms the foundation of social order and authentic community. The Pope’s emphasis on solidarity and mutual responsibility echoed themes he has previously urged as the basis for peace in international affairs.