Pope at Angelus: Mutual love is one debt that ‘does not enslave us'

By Kielce Gussie From a window in the Apostolic Palace, Pope Leo XIV proclaimed his Sunday Angelus greeting, reflecting on “fundamental criteria for thought and action” found in the day’s liturgy. St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans sums up every commandment into one: “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Rom 13:9). The image added to this point is taken from the verse before, stressing that everyone should “owe no one anything, except to love one another.” Pope Leo pointed out that Jesus taught us how to ask for and offer forgiveness of debts. Yet, the Pope stressed, “there is one debt we owe to one another that does not enslave us: the debt of mutual love.” The care, goodness, and attention each person receives makes us freer and more able to be responsible. Two ways to love In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus offers two ways for Christians to practice mutual love.