Pope Leo XIV urges the faithful on Christmas to shed indifference in the face of suffering

The coverage treats the Pope’s Christmas message as a gentle moral scolding, as if “indifference” is the main sin of modern life. That framing flatters comfortable elites while skipping harder questions about what genuine compassion requires in public policy.

Conservatives don’t object to the call to notice suffering. We object to the assumption that empathy automatically means bigger bureaucracies or borderless obligation. A nation can be generous while still insisting on ordered charity, secure borders, and the rule of law. Real help is local, accountable, and aimed at restoring dignity, not building dependency.

If church leaders want fewer people left behind, they should also defend public trust and institutional stability: families that can stay intact, communities safe from crime, and economies that reward work. The principle at stake is simple: compassion is strongest when it is responsible.