ROME (SE): Pablo Virgilio Cardinal David, Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and Jose Cardinal Advincula held a joint press conference after concelebrating the first Mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Sistine Chapel on May 9, CBCP News reported.
Giving his own preview of the direction of the new papacy, Cardinal David of Kalookan and head of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, noted that Pope Leo’s first statements nearly paralleled the discussions of 12 days of general congregations held ahead of the conclave that eventually produced the first American pope.
Pope Leo XIV “treasures the memory of Pope Francis,” who made him cardinal in 2023 and prefect of the Vatican dicastery in-charge of screening the world’s bishops, CBCP News reported.
“I can safely say majority of the cardinals would like to see a continuity of the spirit of the papacy of Pope Francis,” Cardinal David told reporters.
“Without being a clone, without being a photocopy. Every pope is going to be original,” he said.
Cardinal Tagle, pro-prefect at the Dicastery for Evangelisation, in-charge of more than a thousand mission territories, said, “There’s no turning back” on the Church’s outreach for the poor and marginalised.
“Pope Leo was a missionary and then a bishop in Peru. So he himself has been exposed to situations of poverty, of climate change, of the situations of indigenous peoples… of the refugee situation,” the cardinal said.
Cardinal Tagle characterised the new pope a “calm, determined,” and as one who doesn’t make a lot of noise.
“He is a very level-headed person. That is not the kind of person who will react impulsively. He will listen. And if necessary, he will study the issue… But when it comes down to it, it’s clear. And it helps in discernment.”
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Cardinal Advincula, the archbishop of Manila, recalled his experience being at the same table as the then-Cardinal Prevost during the 2023 session of the 16th Ordinary Synod of Bishops [the Synod on Synodality], which sought paths for a more inclusive and listening Church.
The cardinal pointed to the new pope’s background as a canon lawyer. Pope Leo XIV has a doctorate from Rome’s Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, known as the Angelicum.
“He is really self-effacing, very humble, happy in confidence, calm, and then really very clear with his explanation or exposition about certain matters, especially on canon law,” Cardinal Advincula said.
