Sts Peter and Paul argued, but were united in faith: Pope

By CathNews New Zealand

July 1st, 2025

Pope Leo XIV gives a homily at the Mass for the feast of Sts Peter and Paul in St Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican on June 29, 2025. (CNS photo/Pablo Esparza)

Sts Peter and Paul followed different paths, had different ideas and at times argued with one another, but they lived in communion, Pope Leo XIV said. Source: Catholic News Service.

In his homily at Mass on the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul on June 29 at St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo said the two apostles were at odds over “the proper way to deal with gentile converts” and would debate the issue. And yet, they were brothers in the Holy Spirit, and they both shared “a single fate, that of martyrdom, which united them definitively to Christ”, he said.

“The history of Peter and Paul shows us that the communion to which the Lord calls us is a unison of voices and personalities that does not eliminate anyone’s freedom,” Pope Leo said.

“Our patron saints followed different paths, had different ideas and at times argued with one another with evangelical frankness. Yet this did not prevent them from living the ‘concordia apostolorum’, that is, a living communion in the Spirit, a fruitful harmony in diversity,” he said.

“It is important that we learn to experience communion in this way – as unity within diversity – so that the various gifts, united in the one confession of faith, may advance the preaching of the Gospel,” Pope Leo said.

Sts Peter and Paul challenge Catholics to follow their example of fraternity and to think about “the vitality of our faith”, he said. “As disciples, we can always risk falling into a rut, a routine, a tendency to follow the same old pastoral plans without experiencing interior renewal and a willingness to respond to new challenges.”

The two apostles were open to change, new events, encounters and concrete situations in the life of their communities, the Pope said, and they were always ready “to consider new approaches to evangelisation in response to the problems and difficulties raised by our brothers and sisters in the faith”.

During the Mass, Pope Leo revived a tradition begun by St John Paul II in 1983 by personally placing the pallium around the shoulders of the recently-named metropolitan archbishops. According to the Vatican, 54 archbishops from more than two dozen countries who were appointed over the past 12 months received the pallium at the Mass.

FULL STORY

Archbishops must promote unity, seek new ways to share Gospel, pope says | USCCB (By Carol Glatz/CNS)

Holy Mass and Blessing of the Sacred Pallium for the new Metropolitan Archbishops on the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June 2025) | LEO XIV (Full text of homily of Pope Leo XIV on feast of Sts Peter and Paul)