Pope Leo XIV deliver those remarks during his first homily as pontiff on May 9, 2025, in the Sistine Chapel.

In his speech, he warned against what he called “de facto atheism” and implied that life without religion leads to a kind of emptiness pursuing only wealth, power, and superficial comfort. As someone who identifies openly as a humanist and atheist and as someone who once belonged deeply to a faith, I feel it’s important to respond, not with hostility, but with honesty.

I did not walk away from religion because I lost meaning. I walked towards humanism because I found a deeper, more grounded meaning, one rooted in compassion, reason, and shared humanity. I have seen just as much moral clarity, love, and commitment to justice among the irreligious as I’ve seen among the religious.

To reduce us to a symptom of modern decay is not just unfair, it erases the many of us who work daily to build better communities, support the vulnerable, and live truthfully. I believe in meaning. I believe in service. I believe in love.

​I just don’t believe a god is required for any of these. There is beauty in faith, but there is also beauty beyond it. May we learn to speak across our differences, not over them.