Pope Leo XIV Calls His Election Both A Cross And A Blessing | rssama.com

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV, history’s first U.S.-born pontiff, said Friday that his predetermination was some a transverse to carnivore and a blessing arsenic he celebrated his first Mass arsenic nan caput of nan Catholic Church.

Leo spoke off-the-cuff successful English successful nan Sistine Chapel to nan cardinals who elected him to follow successful nan footsteps of Pope Francis, who put a committedness to societal justness astatine nan halfway of his papacy. He acknowledged nan awesome work they had placed connected him earlier delivering a little but dense homily connected nan request to joyfully dispersed Christianity successful a world that often mocks it.

“You person called maine to transportation that transverse and to beryllium blessed pinch that mission, and I cognize I tin trust connected each and each 1 of you to locomotion pinch maine arsenic we proceed arsenic a church, arsenic a community, arsenic friends of Jesus, arsenic believers, to denote nan bully news, to denote nan Gospel,” he said.

It was successful nan aforesaid frescoed chapel that Leo, nan Chicago-born Augustinian missionary Robert Prevost, was elected Thursday day arsenic nan 267th pope, overcoming nan accepted taboo against a pope from nan United States because of nan secular powerfulness nan state wields.

Leo will beryllium formally installed arsenic pope astatine a Mass connected May 18, nan Vatican said Friday, and will preside complete his first wide assemblage May 21.

Leo had asked each heads of Vatican offices, who technically mislaid their jobs pinch nan decease of Pope Francis, to return to activity until further notice, according to nan Vatican. It said he wanted to return clip for “reflection, dream and dialogue” earlier taking immoderate further decisions connected confirming them definitively.

A Mass That May Suggest His Priorities

Two women delivered nan readings of Scripture astatine nan commencement of nan Mass, possibly an denotation of Leo’s volition to proceed Francis’ attraction connected expanding women’s domiciled successful nan church. As a cardinal, Leo put into believe 1 of Francis’ astir revolutionary reforms by having 3 women service connected nan Vaticab committee that vets bishop nominations.

Speaking successful near-perfect Italian, Leo lamented that nan Christian religion successful galore parts of nan world is “considered absurd,” mocked aliases opposed successful nan look of temptations specified arsenic money, occurrence and power. He complained that successful galore places Jesus is misunderstood, “reduced to a benignant of charismatic leader aliases superman.”

“This is existent not only among non-believers but besides among galore baptized Christians, who frankincense extremity up living, astatine this level, successful a authorities of applicable atheism,” he said. “A deficiency of religion is often tragically accompanied by nan nonaccomplishment of meaning successful life, nan neglect of mercy, appalling violations of quality dignity, nan situation of nan family and truthful galore different wounds that afflict our society.”

The cardinals applauded arsenic nan Mass concluded. Leo was seen wearing elemental achromatic shoes — eschewing, arsenic Francis did, nan reddish loafers of nan papacy preferred by immoderate traditionalist popes.

Shortly thereafter, nan Vatican said Leo had asked each Vatican leaders, who technically mislaid their jobs erstwhile Francis died April 21, to stay successful their posts.

Francis Had His Eye On The New Pope

Francis, the first Latin American pope, intelligibly had his oculus connected Prevost and successful galore ways saw him arsenic his heir apparent. He sent Prevost, who had spent years arsenic a missionary successful Peru, to return complete a analyzable diocese location successful 2014. Francis brought Prevost to nan Vatican successful 2023 to caput of nan Vatican’s powerful Dicastery for Bishops, which vets bishop nominations astir nan world and is 1 of nan astir important jobs successful religion governance.

Since arriving successful Rome, Prevost had kept a debased nationalist floor plan but was good known to nan men who count, and respected by those who worked pinch him. Significantly, he presided complete 1 of nan astir revolutionary reforms Francis made, erstwhile he added three women to nan voting bloc that decides which bishop nominations to guardant to nan pope.

In a 2023 question and reply pinch Vatican News, nan then-cardinal said nan women had enriched nan process and reaffirmed nan request for nan laity to person a greater domiciled successful nan church.

“Even nan bishops of Peru called him nan saint, nan saint of nan north, and he had clip for everyone,” said nan Rev. Alexander Lam, an Augustinian friar from Peru who knows nan caller pope.

An Augustinian Pope

The past pope to return the sanction Leo was an Italian who led nan religion from 1878 to 1903. Leo XIII softened nan church’s confrontational stance toward modernity, particularly subject and politics, and laid nan instauration for modern Catholic societal thought. His astir celebrated encyclical — a high-level papal school — addressed workers’ authorities and capitalism astatine nan opening of nan business gyration and was highlighted by nan Vatican successful explaining nan caller pope’s prime of name.

The erstwhile Leo besides had adjacent ties to nan Augustinian order: He rebuilt an ancient Augustinian religion and convent adjacent his hometown of Carpineto, extracurricular Rome, that is still successful usage by nan bid today.

Vatican watchers said Prevost’s determination to sanction himself Leo was peculiarly important fixed nan Leo XIII’s bequest of societal justness and reform, suggesting continuity pinch immoderate of Francis’ main concerns. Specifically, Leo cited 1 of Francis’ cardinal priorities of making nan Catholic Church much attentive to laic group and inclusive.

“He is continuing a batch of Francis’ ministry,’’ said Natalia Imperatori-Lee, nan chair of belief studies astatine Manhattan University successful nan Bronx. She added that his predetermination could nonstop a connection to nan U.S. church, which has been severely divided betwixt conservatives and progressives, pinch overmuch of nan guidance to Francis coming from there.

“I deliberation it is going to beryllium breathtaking to spot a different benignant of American Catholicism successful Rome,’’ Imperatori-Lee said.

Leo said successful a 2023 question and reply pinch Vatican News that nan polarization successful nan religion was a coiled that needed to beryllium healed.

“Divisions and polemics successful nan religion do not thief anything. We bishops particularly must accelerate this activity towards unity, towards communion successful nan church,” he said.

Leo’s brother, John Prevost, was truthful shocked that his relative had been elected pope that he missed respective telephone calls from Leo during an interview Thursday pinch The Associated Press.

John Prevost described his brother, a instrumentality of Wordle, arsenic being very concerned for nan poor and those who don’t person a voice. He said he expects him to beryllium a “second Pope Francis.”

“He’s not going to beryllium existent acold near and he’s not going to beryllium existent acold right,” he added. “Kind of correct down nan middle.”

Looking Ahead

In his first hours arsenic pope, Leo went backmost to his aged flat successful nan Sant’Uffizio Palace to spot colleagues, according to selfies posted to societal media. Vatican Media besides showed him successful nan moments aft his predetermination praying successful nan Pauline Chapel earlier emerging connected nan loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica to shake hands Rome and nan world.

On Sunday, he is group to present his first noon blessing from nan loggia and be an assemblage pinch nan media connected Monday successful nan Vatican auditorium, Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said.

Beyond that, his first overseas travel could beryllium astatine nan extremity of May: Francis had been invited to recreation to Turkey to commemorate nan 1,700th day of nan First Council of Nicaea, a landmark arena successful Christian history and an important infinitesimal successful Catholic-Orthodox relations.

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Franklin Briceño successful Lima Peru, Obed Lamy and Hallie Golden successful New Lenox, Illinois, Colleen Barry successful Schiavon, Italy, and Vanessa Gera and Giada Zampano successful Rome contributed.

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Associated Press belief sum receives support done nan AP’s collaboration pinch The Conversation US, pinch backing from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.