POPE LEO XIV: CONTORTIONS OF SEMANTIC AMBIGUITY
- Feb 6
- 1 min read
200 Words: When Words Warp Reality
Jesus warns us:
Let what you say be simply ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ Anything more than this comes from the evil one (Matthew 5).
Pope Leo XIV speaks with clarity:
Today, the meaning of words is ever more fluid, and the concepts they represent are increasingly ambiguous.
In the contortions of semantic ambiguity, language is becoming more and more a weapon with which to deceive, or to strike and offend opponents.
We need words once again to express distinct and clear realities unequivocally (Address to Diplomatic Corps, 9 January 2026).
Examples of contortions of semantic ambiguity?
Theft becomes liberation.
Abortion becomes selective reduction.
Prostitution becomes sex-working.
Immediately we sense the problem.
Language is being used to manipulate reality, when in fact it is supposed to mediate reality.
Truth goes, so does trust. We can have no sincere, true friendships, or relationships.
St. Augustine observed:
Dumb animals understand each other more easily than people who no longer share a common language.
What is truth?
Pilate asked the question cynically, but we ask it sincerely:
Truth is the alignment of our minds with reality.
Pope Leo XIV is right:
Rediscovering the meaning of words is a primary challenge.
AMEN.
