Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican secretary of state, delivers opening remarks to Pope Leo XIV during an audience at the Vatican with officials from the Secretariat of State June 5, 2025. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Because of its universal character and outlook, the Catholic Church can be a driving force for building communion between the church of Rome and the local churches as well as fostering friendly relationships in the world community, Pope Leo XIV told members of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

However, “Let this place not be clouded by ambition or rivalry; instead, let it be a true community of faith and charity, of ‘brothers and sisters, and children of the pope,’ who give themselves generously for the good of the church,” he said, quoting an appeal made by St. Paul VI when he addressed the Roman Curia in 1963.

Meeting with the officials during an audience at the Vatican June 5, Pope Leo told them the dicastery “reflects the face of the church” with its numerous members from all over the world — bishops, priests, religious men and women, and lay people — who work alongside the pope.

“Together we share the questions, difficulties, challenges and hopes of the people of God throughout the world,” and, as such, “we are incarnate in time and history since God chose the human condition and the languages of humanity,” he said. 

“The church, therefore, is called to follow the same path, in order that the joy of the Gospel may reach everyone, mediated through today’s cultures and languages,” he said. “At the same time, we always seek to maintain a Catholic, universal outlook that allows us to appreciate different cultures and sensibilities.”

“In this way, we can be a driving force committed to building communion between the church of Rome and the local churches, as well as friendly relationships in the international community,” Pope Leo said.

However, “universality evokes the mystery of the multifaceted unity of the church and requires a subsequent effort of synthesis to assist the pope’s mission,” he said.

Carol Glatz