On Thursday evening, May 8, Pope Leo XIV shared a moving message of peace with the world. On Saturday morning, he shared a powerful mission statement with the College of Cardinals.
Convening the cardinals back to the Paul VI Hall, the same amphitheater in the Vatican where the cardinals met for 12 sessions before heading into the conclave, Pope Leo XIV wanted to continue the conversation.
He began the meeting with prayer and a formal address (which you can read in full here), and then opened a discussion, an opportunity “that many of you had asked for: a sort of dialogue with the College of Cardinals to hear what advice, suggestions, proposals, concrete things, which have already been discussed in the days leading up to the conclave.”
The frank discussion among the cardinals that followed his address likely included difficult topics related to the Vatican and the mission of the church today. But his opening address was immediately published by the Holy See Press Office for the world to read, a clear sign that he intended it to inform the church about how he is beginning his papacy.
In the address, he warmly greeted the cardinals, thanked them for being his “closest collaborators” and situated the last weeks in the context of the Easter season, saying “I would like all of us to see the passing of our beloved Holy Father Pope Francis and the Conclave as a paschal event, a stage in that long exodus through which the Lord continues to guide us towards the fullness of life.”
He then offered some highly consequential reflections on the ministry of the pope, the memory of Pope Francis and the direction he intends for the church.
At this early stage of Leo XIV’s pontificate, the text is a “must read” for Catholics. Here are a few notable takeaways:
1) Continuing to value humility like Pope Francis. A big question among Catholics these days has been to what degree will the new pope carry on the initiatives of Pope Francis. Pope Leo put Francis’ ministry in the long tradition of the succession of St. Peter, highlighting a few essential qualities, and reminding the church that “the pope has been a humble servant of God and of his brothers and sisters, and nothing more than this.” Pope Francis, he said, was completely dedicated “to service and to sober simplicity of life,” abandoning himself to God until the very end of his life. “Let us take up this precious legacy and continue on the journey, inspired by the same hope that is born of faith.”
What is most striking in Pope Leo’s comments is the fact that he highlighted Pope Francis’ teachings as “evangelical principles that have always inspired and guided the life and activity of God’s family.” For those in the church who felt Pope Francis was causing doctrinal confusion, inappropriately innovating and possibly leading the church astray, Pope Leo XIV just reminded us of how his predecessor’s ministry was rooted in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And he linked the continuation of this approach to Petrine ministry to both Francis and Benedict XVI, referring to Jesus as “the ultimate hope of all who sincerely seek truth, justice, peace and fraternity” and citing both Benedict’s encyclical “Spe Salvi” and Francis’ bull for the Jubilee Year of Hope, “Spes Non Confundit.” .
2) Continuing the implementation of the Second Vatican Council. In his address, Pope Leo stated categorically: “I would like us to renew together today our complete commitment to the path that the universal church has now followed for decades in the wake of the Second Vatican Council.” He then referenced a few fundamental principles of this implementation from Pope Francis’ programmatic teaching document, “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”):
- The return to the primacy of Christ in proclamation;
- The missionary conversion of the entire Christian community;
- Growth in collegiality and synodality;
- Attention to the sensus fidei, especially in its most authentic and inclusive forms, such as popular piety;
- Loving care for the least and the rejected;
- Courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities.
3) His choice of name reveals his priorities. Everyone is curious about a pope’s choice of name. Pope Francis famously explained how he was inspired by St. Francis of Assisi in the Sistine Chapel as the votes were mounting in his favor. For Pope Leo XIV, that inspiration came from his 19th-century predecessor, who wrote what is considered to be the first modern social encyclical entitled “Rerum Novarum,” on “the new things” related to labor and capital that were influencing a rapidly industrializing world. “In our own day, the church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labor,” the new pope said. Pope Leo XIV intends to carry on that legacy of social teachings, which is not simply a body of doctrine but a disposition, a way of engaging with the world as it evolves, searching for answers to new questions. It’s interesting to note his reference to the revolution of artificial intelligence, which, like the industrial revolution of the late 19th century, will require the church to articulate a new and credible response in service of the dignity of human beings and the common good.
