Pope Leo XIV warns of Western ‘paradox’ on individual freedom

Pope Leo XIV warned Wednesday of a “paradox” in Western societies where a growing emphasis on individual freedom coexists with an increasingly widespread fear of being judged.

Speaking to bishops from various countries who are friends of the Focolare Movement, the pontiff warned of the effects of individualism in the West, “where the once-stable networks of family, friendship, and community are giving way to greater fragmentation.”

In this context, he said, freedom “is increasingly presented as absolute autonomy — the ability to pursue happiness without any moral, natural, or even human limits,” as he noted in his recent encyclical Magnifica Humanitas .

“And yet we observe a paradox,” he continued. “For all the emphasis on individual freedom, people today frequently feel less free to be their genuine selves or follow their highest ideals out of a hidden fear of being judged or of not fitting in.”

Unity as an answer to polarization During his address, the pope called for a renewed commitment to unity as a response to the divisions afflicting the contemporary world.

Highlighting the contribution of the movement founded by Chiara Lubich, he said that “in an age sadly marked…