Pope Leo: ‘Minimal righteousness is not enough; great love is needed’
February 15, 2026
Speaking to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Sunday Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV emphasized today that “the Gospel offers us this valuable teaching: minimal righteousness is not enough; great love is needed” (video).
Reflecting on the Gospel reading at today’s Mass (Matthew 5:17-37), Pope Leo said that “after having proclaimed the Beatitudes, Jesus invites us to enter into the newness of the Kingdom of God. In order to guide us on this journey, he reveals the true meaning of the precepts of the Law of Moses.”
These precepts “are not meant to satisfy an external religious need of feeling ‘righteous’ before God, but to bring us into a relationship of love with God and with our brothers and sisters,” the Pope explained. “For this reason, Jesus says that he did not come to abolish the Law, but to bring it to fulfillment (cf. v. 17).”
Pope Leo continued:
The Law is fulfilled precisely by love, which brings its profound meaning and ultimate purpose to completion. We are called to achieve a righteousness that “exceeds” (cf. v. 20) that of the scribes and Pharisees, a righteousness that is not limited to observing the commandments, but that opens us to love and compels us to love.
Jesus examines some of the precepts of the Law that refer to concrete cases, and uses linguistic formulas called antinomies to show the difference between formal religious righteousness and the righteousness of the Kingdom of God: on the one hand, “You have heard that it was said to the men of old,” and on the other, Jesus affirms, “But I say to you” (cf. vv. 21-37).
Jesus’ “approach is very important, because it shows that the Law was given to Moses and the prophets as a way to come to know God and his plan for us and for history or, to use an expression of Saint Paul, as a pedagogue who guided us to him (cf. Gal 3:23-25),” the Pope said. “But now, God himself, in the person of Jesus, has come among us, bringing the Law to fulfillment, making us children of the Father and giving us the grace to enter into a relationship with him as children and as brothers and sisters among ourselves.”
The Pontiff added:
Brothers and sisters, Jesus teaches us that true righteousness consists in love and that, within every precept of the Law, we must learn to identify a call to love. Indeed, it is not sufficient to refrain from killing a person physically if one then kills with words and undermines the dignity of the other (cf. Mt 5:21-22). Similarly, it is not enough to be technically faithful to one’s spouse and not commit adultery if the relationship lacks mutual tenderness, listening, respect, care for the other and shared goals (cf. vv. 27-28, 31-32). We could add other examples to the ones that Jesus himself offers us. The Gospel offers us this valuable teaching: minimal righteousness is not enough; great love is needed.
“Let us invoke together the Virgin Mary, who gave Christ to the world, the One who fulfills the Law and the plan of salvation,” Pope Leo concluded. “May she intercede for us, help us to understand better the Kingdom of God and to live out its call for righteousness.”
After reciting the Angelus, the Minor Doxology (three times), and the prayer for the faithful departed in Latin, and after imparting his blessing, Pope Leo prayed for victims of natural disasters in Madagascar and extended his best wishes to all who celebrate the Lunar New Year:
In the coming days, millions of people in East Asia and other parts of the world will celebrate the Lunar New Year. May this joyful celebration strengthen family ties and friendships, bring peace to homes and society and provide an opportunity to look to the future together and to build peace and prosperity for all. With my best wishes for the New Year, I express to everyone my affection and invoke the Lord’s blessing upon each one of you.
After greeting various groups of pilgrims, he concluded, “I wish all of you a happy Sunday.”
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