Faith. Hope. Struggle. The Common Good

A Reflection on meeting Pope Leo XIV by Caroline Verdant, Community Organiser for Newham Citizens

There are moments on this journey where everything seems to come full circle, where your quiet prayers, your hard-fought battles, your doubts, your faith, they all meet in one sacred moment. Meeting Pope Leo XIV was one of those moments for me.

As a Catholic, my faith has always been my foundation, but also my wrestling ground. I’ve wrestled with injustice, I’ve carried the tension of loving the Church while challenging its institutions to truly stand with the poor, the displaced, the unheard. I’ve sat in cold church halls and grand cathedrals, organising, building relationships, fighting for the common good not because it’s easy, but because it’s what love demands.

When I stood before the Holy Father, sharing the amazing work that the young people from CUK I wasn’t just bringing my own story, I carried with me the voices of my community, the single mothers, the families in temporary accommodation, the workers demanding dignity, the young people dreaming of change. I carried the long tradition of Catholic Social Teaching that sacred reminder that our faith is not confined to the walls of a church, but is lived out in the messiness of real life.

To speak to Pope Leo XIV about community organising, to share how ordinary people are standing up, building power, and reclaiming hope, was overwhelming. It felt like, for once, the Church saw us. Not as passive recipients of charity, but as leaders. As co-creators of a more just world.

It reminded me that working with institutions, even when it’s slow, even when it’s frustrating matters. That the Gospel isn’t a distant ideal; it’s a living, breathing call to act. To organise. To speak the truth. To love our neighbour, not in words alone, but in the structures we help to shape.

I left that meeting with a renewed sense of purpose. I may be one person, but I am part of something bigger, a Church that, at its best, walks alongside the people, rooted in justice, love, and the unwavering belief that a better world is possible.