On August 28, 2025, at the Vatican Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV received in audience a delegation of Catholic politicians and civil leaders from France. Pope Leo gave them a clear vision for how their faith should shape public life. He called for Catholic social teaching to be fully integrated into political life. The Pope went on to state that there is “no separation in the personality of a public figure,” meaning that a Catholic politician cannot live in two different spheres but must use their public office to promote Catholic teaching.
The Holy See Press Office published the following words expressed by Pope Leo:
• “I welcome all of you, elected officials and civil figures of the diocese of Créteil, on pilgrimage to Rome. I am happy to welcome you on your journey of faith … in working to build a more just, more humane, more fraternal world, which can only be a world more imbued with the Gospel.” [1]
• “In France, due to a sometimes misunderstood secularism, it is not easy for an elected official to act and decide consistently with his faith in the exercise of public responsibilities.” [1]
• “The salvation that Jesus achieved through his death and resurrection encompasses all dimensions of human life, including culture, economics and work, family and marriage, respect for human dignity and life, health, and even communication, education, and politics. Christianity cannot be reduced to a simple private devotion.” [1]
• “Charity becomes social and political charity: social charity makes us love the common good and effectively seek the good of all people.” [1]
• “Jesus states it forcefully: ‘because without me you can do nothing’ (John 15:5); we should therefore not be surprised that the promotion of ‘values’—however evangelical they may be—but ‘emptied’ of Christ, who is their author, are incapable of changing the world.” [1]
• “There is no separation in the personality of a public figure: there is not the politician on one side and the Christian on the other. But there is the politician who, under the gaze of God and his conscience, lives out his commitments and responsibilities in a Christian manner!” [1]
• “You are therefore called to strengthen yourselves in faith, to deepen your understanding of the doctrine—particularly the social doctrine—that Jesus taught the world, and to put it into practice in the exercise of your functions and in the drafting of laws.” [1]
The Pope has expressed what many Christian nationalists in America also affirm—that Christ’s work of salvation extends to every area of life, including the political arena. Catholicism, he insists, cannot be reduced to personal conviction or devotion; it must shape the entire social order. This vision gives Catholic doctrine a universal framework to guide civil society.
Perhaps the most remarkable statement is when Pope Leo tells Catholic politicians to “deepen their understanding of the doctrine” and then to “put it into practice in the exercise of your functions and in the drafting of laws.” He is directly merging the legislative processes of the state with the application of Catholic teaching. In other words, Pope Leo wants Catholic doctrine to serve as the blueprint for law and order.
The union of church and state has always been a central pillar to the Roman Papacy throughout history, and Revelation 13 predicts its resurgence in the last days. By calling on Catholic politicians to legislate according to the teaching of the church, Pope Leo is advancing the very policies that will lead to the enforcement of religious observance through civil authority during the Sunday law crisis. If political leaders are to legislate Catholic doctrine, then Sunday sacredness—Rome’s chief mark of authority—will very soon become a point of enforcement.
“Let the restraints now imposed by secular governments be removed, and Rome be reinstated in her former power, and there would speedily be a revival of her tyranny and persecution” (Great Controversy, p. 564).
Sources
[1] https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2025/08/28/0596/01030.html
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