In his Epiphany homily, Pope Leo XIV delivered an uncomfortable message to global political leaders, likening them to Herod for reacting with fear and violence to change. The pontiff stressed the need for an open rationality, inspired by the Magi, particularly relevant for Latin America plagued by instability and corruption.
Pope Leo XIV delivered his homily during the Epiphany celebration, recalling that the feast signifies a divine irruption that transforms everything: it brings joy to shepherds and Magi, but fear to Herod. In the current context, he identified numerous caudillos, regimes, and elites as Herodian figures who respond to fear with manipulation and violence, turning politics into mere power defense.
Latin America exemplifies this dynamic, per the message. In Venezuela, the situation is portrayed as a kidnapping by a juncture equating stability with immobility and sovereignty with uncertainty. Colombia remains caught in a confusing peace process amid surging illegal economies and persistent corruption.
The pontiff also condemned a deformed economy that exploits humanity's thirst for a better future, reducing migrants to numbers and turning conflicts and disasters into corruption opportunities. Polarization, he added, serves to delegitimize institutions.
In contrast, the Magi symbolize 'homo viator', people on a journey willing to take risks and seek new answers, leaving behind power centers. Hope, he stated, emerges from peripheries like knowledge communities, food-producing territories, and local economies sustaining health, education, and democracy.
The Epiphany calls for shared conversations and alliances toward a common vision beyond the short term. For a region of exile, suspicion, and resentment, this offers a historic opportunity to restore trust and faith in the collective, building the future from the audacity to follow a guiding star, not from power palaces.
