Cardinals of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops held a press conference the day after the first-ever US citizen, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV was elected to the papacy.
His compatriots Cardinal Daniel DiNardo (Houston), Cardinal Timothy Dolan (New York), Cardinal Joseph Tobin (Newark), Cardinal Blase Cupich (Chicago), Cardinal Wilton Gregory (retired of Washington, DC), Cardinal Robert McElroy (Washington DC), as well as Apostolic Nuncio to the United States, French Cardinal Christophe Pierre, were all present to share their experiences of the Conclave and to answer questions.
Unsurprisingly perhaps, the first question and several to follow centered around what it meant to have a USA-born Pope.
The Cardinals seemed united in their consensus that while Pope Leo XIV comes from the United States, he is -- as Cardinal DiNardo put it -- “a citizen of the entire world.”
Dolan echoed DiNardo’s words, adding that the new Pope’s work in Peru and in Rome “reminds us that we all have our true citizenship in heaven,” and that where the Pope comes from is “secondary.”
Within the Conclave
As for the Conclave, Dolan quipped that “nobody does drama like the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church.” The Cardinals also joked that the food was just good enough to urge them to move the election process along.
But on a more serious note, Cardinal Tobin said that the Conclave was much more than a meeting. Together with Cardinals from around the world, he asked himself, “What does the Church need? What does the world need?”
Cardinal Cupich said that it was truly a spiritual experience to be able to listen to one another and respect one another. These conversations happened not only at the Conclave, but in the several days prior, as well as at the Synod. At one point, he said, “Things seemed to just gel and send us in a direction, set us on a path of unity.”
“This was one of the most prayerful moments in my life,” Cardinal Gregory shared.
Cardinal McElroy described the process of discerning who to elect, saying, “With the Last Judgment in front of us - that magnificent painting which brings you before the whole of humanity and all of its joy and accomplishment and all of its hardship and struggle and failing, all sense of those divisions within the world fell away and I felt we were looking at that moment into the souls of one another to find who should carry on this incredibly important mission.”
Why Cardinal Robert Prevost?
Reporters wanted to know why Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was chosen. It wasn’t, Cardinal Wilton explained, because he made some big moving speech to the general congregation of Cardinals.
Rather, Cardinals got to know him in smaller groups - and, of course, Cardinals talked also at meals, over coffee, etc. McElroy added that it wasn’t particularly “the substance” of what he said, “but the manner in which he spoke.”
Cardinal Dolan said that as Successor of Peter, Pope Leo XIV is called to be a bridge builder. But when asked if he thought that the Pope would particularly confront President Trump on issues, he demurred saying that the Pope would start to meet with many heads of state, but he didn’t think that he would give meeting with President Trump more “heft” than encounters with other world leaders.
Wilton echoed that he did not think Pope Leo XIV’s election had much to do with American politics. This is “not a continuation of the American election.”
Cardinal Cupich weighed in and said, however, that his election may have a special impact on Americans, particularly giving them the opportunity to take a second look at the teachings of the Church that have to do with the social gospel, and the rights of immigrants and workers."
A cardinal becomes Pope
Cardinal Tobin described a poignant moment when he had cast a ballot and on his way back, he saw his friend, then-Cardinal Prevost with his head in his hands.
“I was praying for him because I couldn't imagine what happens to a human being when you're facing something like that.”
He then described the change that occurred when he was elected: “And then when he accepted it, it was like he was made for it.”
The Cardinals very much expressed that despite continuity with Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV is his own man. During the Conclave, McElroy said it was clear that “We’re looking for someone in the pathway of Pope Francis, but we’re not looking for a photocopy.” Cupich added that in the Church, “We don’t talk about a replacement, we talk about a successor.”
The Cardinals seemed in agreement that as a Church we need to give Pope Leo XIV a chance to show us who he is.
Cardinal Dolan reminded the press of a moving moment when St. Peter’s Square erupted into cheers. The most enthusiastic moment, he said, is when it was said that “we have a Pope,” even before we know who the Pope is.
We just knew that the Chair of St. Peter was no longer empty, that “Papa is back.”
You can watch the press conference here:
