Pope Leo XIV linked the spiritual exercise of deprivation with the need to curb verbal violence in all areas of public and private life. The official text highlights that this time of preparation was designed to ask for 'the strength of a fast that also reaches the tongue, so that words that wound may decrease and space may grow for the voice of others.' The pontifical document, as learned by the Argentine News Agency, established that the Church invited to once again place the mystery of God at the center of existence to prevent the heart from being scattered among daily distractions. For Leo XIV, the listening to the Word of God was not an isolated act, but a tool that educated to recognize suffering and injustice in social reality. However, the Holy Father placed special emphasis on that this deprivation had to transcend the alimentary to become an ethical behavior towards one's neighbor. The Pontiff urged the community to abandon immediate judgment and slander, especially in high-exposure spaces. 'Let us begin to disarm language, by renouncing hurtful words, immediate judgment, speaking ill of those who are absent and cannot defend themselves,' the text stated, while also urging to cultivate kindness in the family, work, and social networks. Finally, Leo XIV emphasized the communal dimension of this process and pointed out that conversion was not only a matter of individual conscience, but had to affect the quality of dialogue and the style of relationships. The Pope concluded his message with the desire that Christian communities become places of welcome where listening would generate paths of liberation, with the objective that 'many words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace' in a humanity that found itself thirsty for reconciliation. In this sense, the Pope affirmed that 'the condition of the poor represents a cry that, in the history of humanity, constantly challenges our life, our societies, political and economic systems, and especially the Church.' Regarding the practice of fasting, the message defined it as an irreplaceable ascetic exercise to order desires and keep awake the thirst for justice. Buenos Aires, February 14 (NA) – Pope Leo XIV demanded a radical change in the form of communication of the faithful and demanded a fast that would also reach speech as a concrete practice of abstinence for Lent 2026. In his message titled 'Listen and Fast'.
