Pope Leo XIV leads the Professional Ecclesia Mass within the Sistine Chapel, on Might 09, 2025 in Vatican Metropolis, Vatican.
Vatican Pool – Corbis | Corbis Information | Getty Photos
Pope Leo XIV signaled on Saturday he would proceed with the imaginative and prescient and reforms of Pope Francis, telling the world’s Catholic cardinals the late pontiff left a “valuable legacy” that should keep on.
In his first assembly with all of the cardinals since his election as pontiff on Might 8, Leo additionally requested the senior clerics to resume their dedication to main Church reforms enacted by the landmark Second Vatican Council within the Sixties.
Leo mentioned Francis, who died on April 21, broadly had a imaginative and prescient of opening the staid 1.4-billion-member Church to the trendy world, had left an “instance of full dedication to service.”
“Allow us to take up this valuable legacy and proceed on the journey,” the brand new pope advised the cardinals.
The pontiff additionally requested the clerics to “renew collectively our full dedication” to the reforms enacted by the Council, which included celebrating the Mass in native languages relatively than Latin and pursuing dialogue with different religions.
He cited Francis’ give attention to “brave and trusting dialogue with the modern world in its varied parts and realities.”
Francis was pope for 12 years and infrequently garnered criticism from conservative cardinals, who mentioned he was watering down the Church’s doctrine on points corresponding to inclusion of LGBT Catholics and girls’s management.
Leo, the previous U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost, was a relative unknown on the worldwide stage earlier than his election as pontiff. He had spent most of his profession as a missionary in Peru earlier than serving as a senior Vatican official for the previous two years.
The brand new pope mentioned on Saturday he had taken his papal title partly to honor Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903), who was referred to as an advocate for social justice and pushed for honest pay and remedy of employees throughout the industrial revolution.
Leo XIV mentioned the Church should now take the lead in going through newer threats to employees, corresponding to synthetic intelligence. He mentioned AI posed “new challenges for the defence of human dignity, justice and labour.”
Leo’s two-hour assembly with the cardinals took a special format to that utilized by earlier popes, who would sometimes supply a speech and count on the clerics solely to hear.
This time, Leo gave a ready handle after which opened the ground to any cardinal who wished to make a remark — permitting the clerics to voice their opinions and considerations about the principle points going through the worldwide Church.
“He listened very fastidiously, however he is aware of he’ll should make the choices,” Irish Cardinal Sean Brady advised Reuters. “However we’re right here to assist him.”
Spanish Cardinal Aquilino Bocos Merino described the assembly as “very cordial and communal.”
China deal comes up
Leo greeted every of the cardinals individually as they left the assembly, which was held in the identical small Vatican auditorium the place the cardinals had been gathering within the days earlier than the conclave to debate who must be the following pope.
Czech Cardinal Dominik Duka mentioned one matter that got here up was the state of affairs of Catholics in communist China.
The Vatican and China in 2018 signed a controversial deal on the appointment of bishops within the nation, which supplies Beijing some enter into their choice.
Conservatives have attacked the still-secret deal as a sell-out, however Duka advised Reuters it was essential to maintain a dialogue open in locations the place the Church is oppressed, evaluating it to dialogue between the Vatican and jap European international locations throughout the Chilly Battle.
German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, who brazenly clashed with Francis on points regarding Catholic ethical educating, advised Reuters that Saturday’s encounter was “excellent and harmonious.”
To be elected as pope throughout the Might 7-8 secret conclave on the Sistine Chapel, Leo required a two-thirds majority of 89 of the 133 voting cardinals.
Madagascar Cardinal Désiré Tsarahazana advised Reuters that Leo acquired greater than 100 votes on the ultimate poll on the afternoon of Might 8.
