---
title: Pope warns of "false teachers" radicalizing believers' faith
url: https://www.faithfulnews.com/en/pope-warns-of-false-teachers-radicalizing-believers-faith
published: 2026-10-11T16:49:23+00:00
language: en
section: Culture and Ideas
source: https://www.religiondigital.org/leon-xiv/papa-advierte-falsos-maestros-radicalizan-fe-universidades-pontificias_1_1469088.html
organizations: papa, san, universidades, pontificias, falsos, maestros
publisher: FaithfulNews
---

# Pope warns of "false teachers" radicalizing believers' faith

The pope warned about the existence of "false teachers" who sometimes lead believers to "radicalize their faith" during the homily of the mass he celebrated on Thursday at the Basilica of San Pedro to inaugurate the academic year of pontifical universities. "In any era, there are false teachers who direct the religious sentiment of many believers towards their own interests, often encouraging them to radicalize some aspect of the teachings received, to the detriment of the totality, which is Christ and his Gospel," he stated. Therefore, he urged university students and professors to "value study as a service to faith and truth."

The pope defended that the Church also has the duty to provide "scientific reflection, cultural mediation, and its translation into practice." He advocated for true intelligence, which "must remember: not simply pouring out data, as even a faster algorithm can do, but recalling lived experiences, with the resonances that only the human soul can find and entering more intensely into contact with its goodness."

He asked students to cultivate friendship and to "not forget the poor, who sometimes are like that inconvenient friend, who comes to knock at night." "Let us share what nourishes us. Many do not have the same educational opportunities that we have received. Let us open the door, do not shut ourselves in," he urged. He encouraged them to enjoy these years: "Look around you at the university: in your classrooms, the whole world is present. Next to you study people from Africa, Asia, America, Europe, and Oceania. Do not just sit next to each other: meet each other, talk among yourselves, listen to each other, share your Church experiences, pray together, share moments of leisure, and create friendships that will accompany you for a lifetime," he added.

## This story in other languages

- [Svenska](https://www.faithfulnews.com/sv/papeet-paminner-om-falska-larare-som-radikalerar-tron)
- [Türkçe](https://www.faithfulnews.com/tr/papa-falsos-ogretmenler-konusunda-uyardi)
- [Nederlands](https://www.faithfulnews.com/nl/de-paus-waarschuwt-voor-falsos-maestros-die-de-geloofsradicalisering-bevorderen)
- [Polski](https://www.faithfulnews.com/pl/papiez-ostrzega-przed-falszywymi-nauczycielami-ktorzy-radykalizuja-wiare)
- [Deutsch](https://www.faithfulnews.com/de/papst-warnt-vor-falschen-lehrern-die-den-glauben-radikalieren)
- [Português (Brasil)](https://www.faithfulnews.com/pt-br/papa-alerta-sobre-falsos-maestros-que-desviam-a-fe-dos-crentes-durante-inauguracion-do-ano-academico-das-universidades-pontificias)
- [Italiano](https://www.faithfulnews.com/it/il-papa-avverte-dei-falsi-maestri-che-radicalizzano-la-fede)