Thursday, October 23, 2025, will go down in history as a pivotal moment in the pontificate of Leo XIV. In the Aula Paolo VI, the iconic Vatican hall with its modernist curves designed by Pier Luigi Nervi, the Peruvian-American pope delivered a speech that electrified the audience. Facing representatives of popular movements from around the world, he proclaimed with rare conviction that “land, housing, and work are sacred rights.” A declaration that extends the legacy of his predecessor Francis while charting his own course in the social struggle of the Catholic Church.
This fifth gathering of popular movements was no small event. Since Francis initiated these meetings, they have become the privileged place where the Church engages in direct dialogue with those who struggle daily for human dignity. Leo XIV, who chose this pontificate to mark his spiritual affiliation with the great social Pope Leo XIII, thus confirms that his Church will resolutely stand with the most vulnerable.
A speech that makes the walls of the Vatican tremble
Palpable emotion in the Aula Paolo VI
The atmosphere was special this Thursday evening. The participants, who came from every continent, represented the faces of modern poverty: precarious workers, landless peasants, poorly housed families, and informal workers. When Leo XIV entered the room, eyes turned toward him with a mixture of hope and expectation. This pope, who grew up between the United States and Peru, knows the realities of social injustice from within.
From the very first sentences, something unusual happened. The pontiff's voice, usually firm and calm, carried a crack, a raw emotion that immediately touched the audience. This was not a formal speech delivered mechanically, but a word from the heart, that of a pastor deeply concerned by the suffering of his flock.
The applause that cut the Pope off
Rarely is a pope interrupted by such spontaneous and sustained applause. When Leo XIV pronounced this historic phrase on the three sacred rights, the assembly rose as one. For several minutes, the cheers echoed beneath the concrete vaults of the Aula Paolo VI. A rare moment of communion between a pontiff and the people he represents.
This applause was not just a mark of political or social approval. It expressed something deeper: the recognition that the Catholic Church, through its visible leader, was clearly taking a stand on the side of the oppressed. In a world where inequality is widening and triumphant neoliberalism seems unassailable, these words resonated with liberation.
The three pillars of human dignity
The Earth: Rediscovering the Roots of Our Humanity
When Leo XIV speaks of land as a sacred right, he is not simply referring to land ownership. He is touching on something much more fundamental: the connection between humanity and creation, between people and the nature that sustains them.
In many parts of the world, the concentration of land in the hands of a few has deprived millions of peasants of their livelihoods. Large agricultural corporations, extractive projects, land grabs by foreign investors: these are all phenomena that have severed communities from their ancestral relationship with the land. The Pope denounces this rupture as violence against both humanity and creation.
Land, in Leo XIV's vision, is not a mere commodity. It is the place where humanity can exercise its vocation to cultivate and care for the garden that God has entrusted to it. Therefore, access to it cannot be reserved for an elite, but must be guaranteed to all those who wish to live from it with dignity. This perspective echoes the struggles of peasant movements around the world, from the Landless Workers' Movement in Brazil to small farmers in India resisting multinationals.
Housing: a roof is not a luxury
The second pillar mentioned by the Pope concerns housing. In our modern societies, having a roof over one's head has become an inaccessible privilege for millions of people. Major cities are seeing their city centers gentrify, driving the working classes to ever-further outskirts. Rents are skyrocketing while wages stagnate.
Leo XIV emphatically stated: decent housing is not a luxury, it is a fundamental right. Without stable shelter, how can one build a harmonious family life? How can one provide one's children with an environment conducive to their development? How can one simply preserve one's mental and physical health? Poor housing is a form of social violence that destroys individuals and fragments communities.
The Pope calls for a radical rethinking of our relationship with housing. Rather than viewing real estate as a speculative investment, we must see it as a common good whose primary purpose is to provide shelter for families. This vision clashes head-on with the logic of the real estate market, but it is part of a long tradition of Christian social thought that emphasizes that the earth's goods are intended for all.
Work: dignity restored
The third sacred right according to Leo XIV is work. But be careful, this is not just any job. The Pope is not praising the alienating, precarious, underpaid work that constitutes the lot of so many of our contemporaries. He is talking about dignified work, which allows people to support themselves, develop their skills, and contribute to the common good.
In a global context marked by Uberization, the proliferation of precarious contracts, and the destruction of social rights, this statement takes on particular resonance. Work is not only a means of economic survival; it is also a place of personal fulfillment and social contribution. When it becomes a source of exploitation and suffering, human dignity itself is violated.
Here, the Pope echoes the analyses of unions and workers' movements that denounce growing job insecurity. He calls for rebuilding strong social protections, guaranteeing decent wages, and giving workers a voice in organizing their work. This social perspective recalls Leo XIII's encyclical Rerum Novarum, whose name the current Pope has adopted to demonstrate his commitment to social issues.
Francis's legacy and Leo XIV's own path
In the footsteps of a visionary predecessor
It is impossible to understand Leo XIV's speech without placing it in the context of Francis's pontificate. It was Francis who inaugurated these meetings with popular movements, creating a new space for dialogue between the Vatican and grassroots actors engaged in the struggle for social justice. It was also Francis who, in the encyclical Laudato Si', forged the links between integral ecology and social justice.
The Argentine Pope had already addressed the issue of the "three Ts": tierra (land), techo (roof), and trabajo (work), during previous meetings. He had strongly denounced what he called "the economy that kills," this neoliberal logic that sacrifices humanity on the altar of profit. Francis had also sharply criticized the "globalization of indifference" in the face of the suffering of the poorest.
Leo XIV explicitly subscribes to this legacy. His direct reference to "Francis' requests" in his speech is not insignificant. It marks a doctrinal and spiritual continuity between the two pontificates. The new pope does not deny any of his predecessor's advances; on the contrary, he amplifies and radicalizes them.
An expansion of the Church's social struggle
But Leo XIV did not simply repeat Francis. His speech also marked a significant shift. By describing the three rights as "sacred," he crossed an important symbolic threshold. This term, in Catholic theology, is not used lightly. The sacred refers to that which touches the divine, that which is inviolable, that which deserves absolute respect.
By speaking of sacred rights, the Pope is not just making a political or social statement. He is making a theological gesture: he is inscribing these material demands within the realm of faith. This means that fighting for land, housing, and work is not only a legitimate political option, it is a spiritual duty. One cannot claim to serve God while ignoring these fundamental rights.
This sacralization of social rights considerably broadens the Church's struggle. It means that the entire ecclesial community, not just a few committed activists, must be concerned with these issues. It also implies that Catholics cannot remain neutral in the face of policies that violate these rights. Leo XIV thus draws a clear line: on the one hand, systems that respect human dignity; on the other, those that violate it.
A voice from the peripheries
Leo XIV's biography gives his speech a particular authority. This American-Peruvian pope is not a cabinet theorist. He grew up between two worlds: American power and Latin American poverty. This bicultural experience allows him to understand from the inside the mechanisms of economic domination that structure our world.
His career has brought him face-to-face with the realities of social injustice. He knows the slums of Lima, the working-class neighborhoods where families are crammed into substandard housing. He has encountered exploited workers and peasants driven from their land. This proximity to the poor is not a rhetorical stance for him; it is a lived experience that informs his thinking and actions.
By choosing the name Leo, he explicitly refers to Leo XIII, the pope of Rerum Novarum, the founding encyclical of the Church's social doctrine. This choice signals that his pontificate will be marked by the social question. But unlike Leo XIII, who wrote at the end of the 19th century in a European context of industrial revolution, Leo XIV speaks from the peripheries of the globalized world of the 21st century.
A word that disturbs and liberates
Mixed reactions in the Church
Leo XIV's speech was not unanimously accepted within the Catholic Church. Some conservative circles, particularly in Europe and North America, viewed this marked social orientation with suspicion. They feared that the Church would become excessively politicized and lose its spiritual message by becoming too deeply involved in temporal struggles.
These critics accuse the Pope of giving in to progressive, even Marxist, ideologies. They emphasize that the Church must focus on the salvation of souls and not on material demands. For them, talking about sacred rights is a confusion of registers: the sacred must remain within the sphere of pure religion.
But these minority voices are largely offset by enthusiastic support, particularly in the Church in the Global South. In Latin America, Africa, and Asia, Leo XIV's speech resonates deeply with the daily concerns of Christian communities. These local churches, faced with massive poverty, see the Pope's words as a legitimization of their social commitment.
Echo in social movements
Beyond the borders of the Catholic Church, Leo XIV's speech has aroused considerable interest among social movements around the world. Trade unions, homeless associations, farmers' organizations, and environmental groups all welcome this clear stance from a global moral authority.
For these actors, having the Pope as an ally in their fight represents a major strategic asset. The Catholic Church, with its 1.3 billion faithful and its geopolitical influence, can give significant visibility and legitimacy to social demands. When the Pope declares that land, housing, and work are sacred rights, it is not just another opinion: it is a statement that carries considerable moral weight.
Social movements also see in this discourse a break with the historical complicity of a part of the Church with the established powers. For a long time, ecclesiastical hierarchies often supported the existing social order, even when it was profoundly unjust. With Leo XIV, it is another Church that speaks: that of the poor, the excluded, the voiceless.
A challenge to governments
Leo XIV's speech also constitutes a direct challenge to governments around the world. By proclaiming these three rights as sacred, the Pope establishes a moral standard to which public policies must conform. These are no longer mere pious recommendations, but fundamental requirements.
This challenge is particularly acute for countries with a Catholic majority. How can the leaders of these nations ignore the Pope's call? How can they justify neoliberal deregulatory policies when the head of their Church affirms that access to land, housing, and decent work are sacred?
The Pope does not propose a detailed political program. He does not specify exactly what concrete measures should be implemented. But he does outline a clear horizon: economic and social choices must be judged by their ability to guarantee these fundamental rights. Any system that flouts them must be challenged.
A Vision for the 21st Century Church
Putting the poor at the center
Leo XIV's speech confirms a fundamental orientation of his pontificate: placing the poor at the heart of the Church's life. This is not a simple preferential option for the poor, a concept already ancient in liberation theology. It is an ecclesiological refoundation: the Church must be above all the Church of the poor.
This perspective profoundly transforms the mission of the Church. It can no longer be content with charitable works that alleviate poverty without questioning its causes. It must engage in a structural struggle to transform unjust systems. Charity remains necessary, but it must be accompanied by a struggle for justice.
This vision also implies an internal transformation of the Church. How can one preach evangelical simplicity while living in luxury? How can one denounce inequalities while maintaining rigid hierarchical structures? Leo XIV implicitly calls the Church to a consistency between its message and its institutional practice.
Overcoming traditional divisions
The Pope rejects the binary oppositions that often paralyze public debate. It is not a matter of choosing between spirituality and social commitment, between the salvation of souls and the transformation of the world, between the vertical and horizontal dimensions of faith. For Leo XIV, these dimensions are inseparable.
Serving God and serving the poor are not two separate actions, but one and the same reality. One cannot claim to love an invisible God if one despises the visible people who suffer. Similarly, one cannot fight for social justice without reference to a transcendence that establishes the inalienable dignity of each person.
This comprehensive vision helps overcome the divisions between progressive and conservative Catholics. It invites all Christians, regardless of their persuasion, to come together around the essential: the defense of human dignity in all its dimensions.
An incarnate Catholicism
Leo XIV's message promotes an incarnate Catholicism, rooted in the concrete realities of human existence. The Christian faith is not a theoretical abstraction; it must be translated into practical commitments. Belief in God the Creator implies respecting creation and allowing all to enjoy it justly.
This incarnation of faith is in keeping with the great Catholic tradition of creation. Unlike some spiritualities that despise the material world, Christianity affirms that matter is good because it was created by God and redeemed by the incarnation of Christ. Caring for earthly realities is therefore not a distraction from the spiritual life; it is an authentic expression of it.
The Pope thus recalls that Christianity is not a religion of escape from the world, but of the transformation of the world. Christians are called to be the salt of the earth and the light of the world, to ferment the human dough to make it rise towards greater justice and fraternity.
Implementation Challenges
Translating principles into policies
One of the major challenges following Leo XIV's speech will be translating these generous principles into concrete policies. Affirming that land, housing, and work are sacred rights is important, but how can these rights be effectively guaranteed?
On the land issue, does this imply agrarian reforms? Strict regulation of land grabbing? Massive support for peasant agriculture? These technical issues require in-depth expertise and political choices that can be contested.
What concrete measures should be taken regarding housing? Should rents be capped? Should social housing be built on a massive scale? Should empty dwellings be requisitioned? Each option has its advantages and disadvantages, and a democratic debate must decide.
Regarding work, how can we guarantee its dignity in a globalized world where international competition is pushing down employment conditions? Should we strengthen social protections at the risk of slowing growth? Should we accept a decline in growth to preserve the dignity of work?
Resisting dominant economic logic
Leo XIV's speech clashes head-on with the economic logic that dominates our time. Neoliberalism, which has become the standard thinking in many countries, believes that the market must regulate all social relations. In this vision, everything becomes a commodity: land, housing, and even human labor.
To assert that these realities are sacred rights is to radically challenge this commodification of the world. It means that there are goods that cannot be subject to the sole law of the market, that must be protected and guaranteed collectively.
This position will attract criticism from those who defend the market economy. They will argue that only free enterprise can create the wealth needed to lift people out of poverty. They will highlight the failures of planned and interventionist economies.
The Pope will therefore have to refine his economic thinking. It is not a question of rejecting the market economy outright, but of subordinating it to the common good. The market can be an effective tool, but it must be regulated, framed, and oriented towards serving all.
Mobilizing the Catholic community
Another major challenge will be to effectively mobilize the global Catholic community behind these goals. Papal speeches are often applauded and then forgotten. How can we ensure that these strong words translate into concrete commitments from the faithful?
The Church has considerable resources at its disposal: educational institutions, charitable networks, land holdings, and the ability to mobilize. How can all this be used to serve the three sacred rights? It is not enough to proclaim them; they must be embodied in ecclesial life.
This could involve concrete initiatives: making church land available for community agricultural projects, converting unused church buildings into social housing, and creating work cooperatives supported by parishes. The possibilities are numerous, but they require strong political will within the institution.
Beyond the discourse: a dynamic to build
The speech of October 23, 2025, will undoubtedly go down in history as a significant moment in Leo XIV's pontificate. But its true impact will depend on what follows. A speech, however inspiring, does not change the world on its own. It must be part of a broader dynamic, followed by concrete actions and lasting mobilizations.
Leo XIV understood this well. By addressing popular movements rather than heads of state or economic elites, he showed that change would come from below. It was organized communities, fighting collectives, and grassroots associations that could concretely transform society.
The role of the Church, in this perspective, is not to lead these movements but to accompany them, to give them moral legitimacy, to create spaces for encounter and dialogue. The Church can be this mediating force that articulates local struggles with a global vision, that connects particular battles to a universal horizon.
The issue of the three sacred rights—land, housing, and work—will remain at the heart of the political and social agenda in the years to come. In the face of the looming ecological, economic, and migration crises, guaranteeing these fundamental rights will become increasingly urgent. Leo XIV's speech will at least have had the merit of placing these issues at the center of public debate and reminding us that they touch the very depths of our common humanity.
