When Cardinal Mamberti walked out onto the balcony of Saint Peter’s, very few people would have guessed he was about to announce the election of the first American Pope to the See of Saint Peter. But that is precisely what we received, and what a joy it has been to watch these early days of the papacy of Pope Leo. The election, though, raises the question: who is this man the College of Cardinals elevated to Christ’s vicar on earth?
While we have much to learn about Pope Leo, I wanted to reflect on a few things in these early stages of his papacy that shed light on the work we do at the NCC to bear the light of Christ in the public square.
Proclaiming the Peace of Christ & Abandonment to the Providence of God. Pope Leo began his papacy with those all too familiar words we hear constantly as Christians: “Peace be with you!” In announcing these words to the whole world—and to each of us individually—Pope Leo was bringing us back to the historic and history-changing event, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He called for this peace to “resound in your hearts, in your families, among all people, wherever they may be, in every nation and throughout the world.” This, of course, being a reminder that the peace of Christ is all powerful and desires to take root in every aspect of creation. Peace is not merely some absence of war or conflict, but something deeper. It is the right ordering of our lives, our relationships, and communities and, as the Catechism states, “the work of justice and the effect of charity” that is ultimately won by the blood of the Lamb.
In speaking of peace and trusting in Divine Providence, the Holy Father focuses on first things first: trust in God’s designs and desires, and to live constantly in the ways that the Lord calls us to live, for the good of our salvation and those around us.
Bold Proclamation for Peace. In his first Sunday afternoon address, Pope Leo continued boldly proclaiming the theme of peace. In these early days of his pontificate, the Holy Father could have been silent about controversial matters, but he knew that’s not the way of Christ. He did not shy away from immediately and directly speaking to world leaders, urging them to peace.
He called for peace for the Ukrainian people. He called for peace in the Gaza strip. And he announced his “satisfaction” with the ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
Speaking from the Heart of the Good Shepherd who cares for every single one of His lambs, Pope Leo immediately sought to advocate for those torn apart and killed by war. By doing so, he provided a voice for those who need a voice on the world stage.
What’s in a Name? One of the questions that immediately rose to my heart after hearing that Cardinal Prevost, elected Pope, would take the name of Leo was: why that name?
Pope Leo answered this question in his first formal address to the College of Cardinals. He noted there are “different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great revolution.” Continuing, the Holy Father stated: “In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to the developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.”
We can expect in the days and years ahead, God willing, a strong emphasis on how Catholic social teaching can speak to the world in our modern age, but particularly at a time when technology is advancing at such leaps and bounds as to raise fundamental questions about the nature of the human person and human community.
Catholic social teaching is at the core of the NCC’s work, and we have recently been exploring these same modern questions the Pope is raising. What does Christ teach us of these advancements? What is the good that can be affirmed in them? What are the evils we must avoid, in order to maintain our humanity and salvation?
I am very excited for what is ahead, not just because the Pope hails from the Midwest and is a baseball fan but because the Pope is set on proclaiming the love of Jesus Christ to the world—and there is nothing greater to watch than the love of Christ spread like wildfire across the nations, as He so desired.
