Mumbai (AsiaNews) – After yesterday's Mass in the Sistine Chapel, Pope Leo XIV today met again with the cardinals, in an ideal continuation of the general congregations that preceded the conclave. But how do the Churches of Asia, never as present this time among the cardinal electors, look at the new pontiff? We asked Card Oswald Gracias, archbishop emeritus of Bombay, chosen and then confirmed by Francis as the continent's representative on the C9, the Council of Cardinals. Having turned 80 last December, Cardinal Gracias did not participate in the election of Leo XIV but is still experiencing today’s historic days in the life of the Church in Rome.
Pope Leo is a gift of God to the Universal Church, to Asia, India, all continents and all peoples, cultures. He brings hopes, expectations, understanding, openness and a missionary thrust. He will inspire and lead. Pope Leo XIV will be a continuation of the style of Francis.
I met Pope Leo XIV three times for long discussions, as Prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops. I found him very open, understanding, with a broad vision of the diversity of peoples and cultures, and above all of the missionary thrust.
Pope Leo XIV is also very intelligent, with a keen capacity to listen and instantly grasp the spirit of what is being spoken. He has absolute clarity and grasps the situation and context, with the discernment and courage to take decisions and act guided by the Holy Spirit.
In his homily this morning, Pope Leo XIV addressed practical atheism. He has his pulse on the context in which we live. While we intellectually say that God is, we live autonomous lives and behave as if God does not exist.
We see the Pope firmly rooted in faith, shaped by Saint Augustine the "Doctor of Grace” when he says the Church must illuminate the “dark nights of this world”.
The Pope spoke of current settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent, settings where other securities are preferred. God is no more a factor, and the Pope addressed these issues with the entire College of Cardinals.
I think Pope Leo brings hope, expectations and a new freshness, the freshness of the Holy Spirit, which will bring new energy.
While Pope Leo's papacy will be influenced by and referenced to that of Pope Francis, he will have his own style as we witnessed yesterday (Thursday). The Pope came to the balcony vested, traditional papal garments, and I know he will be a bridge.
The name he chose, Leo XIV, was after Pope Leo XIII whose landmark encyclical, Rerum Novarum, was a breakthrough. He understood that economics was driving the world.
Rerum Novarum addressed social and economic issues and is the foundation for building a just society. We know his work in Peru, and his brilliance as a leader and administrator during his two terms as prior general. He witnessed firsthand the lives of simple, ordinary people.
With his global experience, he will be able to respond to the numerous challenges of the papacy. Taking the name of Leo XIV is very symbolic.
The Pope is meeting the Cardinals again tomorrow (today), a sign that he wants to listen. His will be a collegial papacy.
During one of my meetings with Cardinal Prevost, I asked him about his Augustinian background, and he said it was a “balance of contemplatives and actions’.
The youth will take to him. He will inspire them. Already in the square, at the time of the election, there were so, so many youths, who were delighted, joyful with a renewed vitality and eagerness and excitement for Pope Leo.
The unbelievable speed with which Pope Leo was elected was the work and a gift of the Holy Spirit, a freshness for the Church.
* cardinal, archbishop emeritus of Bombay (Mumbai)
(Nirmala Carvalho contributed to this article)
