At Catholic Charities of Oregon, we welcome the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV. In his ministry and messages, he has shown a clear love for people who are poor.
Cardinal Prevost – a dual citizen of the United States and Peru –has been a champion of migrants and those society has pushed to the margins. A Chicago native, his combined citizenship is an important sign of unity. We believe he will be a bridge builder, something urgently needed in the world today.
Speaking in Italian and Spanish in his first address, Pope Leo urged the church to “help build bridges through dialogue to be one people.”
He has been president of a church commission that works on concerns of Latin America, a sign that he will continue to be an important voice on the needs of migrants.
In choosing the name Leo XIV, he echoes the memory of Pope Leo XIII, a 19th-century pope long known as a champion of the social mission of the church.
Yet Leo XIII was both a leader in social mission and a guardian of tradition. In 1895, he wrote a famous letter to American Catholics warning them against “Americanism,” urging them not to sacrifice the ancient teachings of the church to follow modern trends.
Pope Leo XIV has experience in the peripheries of the world. He also has worked in Rome and knows how to work with those who are powerful.
To us at Catholic Charities, this all means a high hope for unity among different parts of the church and the world. The new pope voiced the word “peace” again and again.
We take great comfort in his words from his first address: “We will be a church that always seeks peace and always seeks charity and must be close to those who suffer.”
Pope Leo XIV’s words fill us with hope and reaffirm our commitment to our mission of serving those who are most vulnerable.
