Pope Leo XIV says synodality is key to unity in newly released interview

Pope Leo XIV has spoken at length about the role of synodality in the life of the Church in a newly released interview published by Crux on 14 September.

The remarks on synodality form part of a forthcoming biography, León XIV: ciudadano del mundo, misionero del siglo XXI, written by Crux senior correspondent Elise Ann Allen and to be published in Spanish by Penguin Peru on 18 September. English and Portuguese editions will follow in 2026.

In the video excerpts, Pope Leo is shown seated against a wall in a darkened room, speaking into a simple recorder on the table before him.

The Pope, elected in March, described synodality as “an attitude, an openness, a willingness to understand”. He said it meant that every member of the Church had a voice and a role to play “through prayer, reflection … through a process”.

He said that synodality should not be seen as diminishing episcopal or priestly authority. Some clergy, he noted, had felt threatened by the process, but he insisted that synodality was about creating communion. “It’s not on an institutional hierarchy, but on the idea of ‘us together’ and ‘our Church’,” he said.

Pope Leo linked synodality to his pastoral experience in Latin America. Half of his ministry was spent in Peru, where he said the Church had long practised forms of consultation that later became more widely known. “Some of the Latin American Church has really contributed to the universal Church,” he said.

He added that synodality could be a way of helping the Church remain united. “If we listen to the Gospel, and if we reflect upon it together, and if we strive to walk forward together, listening to one another, trying to discover what God is saying to us today, there is a lot to be gained for us there,” he said.

The Pope also reflected on the broader challenges of his ministry, saying he had moved easily into the pastoral side of the papacy but was still adjusting to the global dimension of the role. “The role of pope is certainly new to me,” he said. “I am learning a lot and feel very challenged but not overwhelmed.”

He described his election as the work of the Holy Spirit. “The Holy Spirit is the only way to explain how I was elected to this office,” he said.

Other subjects addressed included peace in Ukraine, the role of the United Nations, and economic inequality. On Ukraine, Pope Leo said the Holy See continued to advocate for peace but described the possibility of acting as mediator as “less realistic”. He said the UN had lost the ability to bring people together on multilateral issues. He also pointed to the disparity between the earnings of company executives and workers, citing the news that Elon Musk was expected to become the world’s first trillionaire.

The full text of the interview will be available when the biography is published on 18 September.

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