The first discussion between the new Pope and his cardinals. The meeting was held in an unusual format
Leon XIV and his photo cardinals: Vatican Media / Shutterstock Editorial / Profimedia
Pope Leon XIV has reported that he would continue the reforms of Pope Francis, telling the cardinal that the deceased Pontiff has left “a precious inheritance” to be carried on, informs Reuters.
In the first meeting of the cardinals after his choice, Leon XIV asked the prelates to renew their commitment to the major reforms of the church decided at the Vatican Second Council of the 60's.
A message of continuity
The pope said that Francis had an opening vision to the modern world of the church with 1.4 billion believers and left “an example of complete dedication for service”. “Let's take this precious inheritance and continue the trip,” the new Pope told the carders.
Also, the pontiff asked the Cardinals to confirm the “complete commitment” for the reforms decided by the council, which include the celebration of the liturgy in local languages, not in Latin and to persist in dialogue with other religions. He invoked Francis's bending to “the brave and confident dialogue with the contemporary world in its various components and realities.”
The supporters of Maga criticizes the choice of Pope Leon XIV: he will be American, but he does not put “America in the first place”
Francis has been a pope for 12 years and was sometimes criticized by the conservative cardinals, who said they dilute the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church in terms of the inclusion of LGBT Catholics and the appointment of women in management positions. Leon, former cardinal Robert Prevost, was relatively unknown on a global scale before his choice. He has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru before becoming a top official at the Vatican, in the last two years.
The new pope stated on Saturday that he chose his papal name in order to honor Leon XIII (1878-1903), who was known as a social justice lawyer and asked for a correct payment and medical treatment for workers during the industrial revolution. Leon XIV said that the church must be involved in the confrontation of new threats to employees, such as artificial intelligence. He said that you would raise “new challenges to defend human dignity, justice and work.”
The relationship with China, a delicate topic
The two -hour meeting with the cardinals had a different format from the one used by the previous popes, which were just a speech and expected to listen. This time, Leon read a speech and then invited the cardinals to speak, if they had comments to make, allowing the prelates to express their opinions and concerns about the main problems faced by the Roman Catholic Church.
“He listened very carefully, but he knows that he will be the one who will have to make the decisions, but we are here,” said Cardinal Iralndez Sean Brady. Spanish cardinal Aquilino Bocos Merino described the meeting as “very cordial”.
Leon personally greeted each of the cardinals when leaving the meeting, which took place in the small audience of Vatican, the same room in which the conclave was held after which the new Pope was chosen.
Cardinal Ceh Dominik Duka said that one of the topics discussed was the situation of Catholics in communist China. In 2012, the Vatican and China signed a controversial agreement on the appointment of bishops, which give Beijing some influence in their choice.
Conservatives challenged the agreement, which is still secret, as a betrayal, but Duka said that it was necessary to keep the dialogue in the countries where the Church is oppressed, made a comparison with the Vatican dialogue and the Eastern European states during the Cold War.
German cardinal Gerhard Muller, who entered the open conflict with Francis in matters related to the moral teaching of the church, said that the Saturday meeting was “very good and harmonious”
