Pope Leo met with the world’s Catholic cardinals on Thursday as part of a two-day summit, urging senior clerics to avoid divisions within the 1.4-billion-member Church and focus on attracting new believers.
The pope also indicated his intent to continue the reform agenda of the late Pope Francis, who faced resistance from conservative cardinals while seeking to make Catholicism more inclusive, including welcoming gay Catholics and exploring discussions on women’s ordination.
Speaking at the closed-door summit, which began on Wednesday, Pope Leo emphasised that the Church would only thrive by sharing a message of God’s love for all. “Only love is trustworthy; only love is credible,” he said. “While unity attracts, division scatters.”
Massimo Faggioli, an Italian academic at Trinity College Dublin who monitors Vatican affairs, noted that Leo is “working to convince the cardinals that they need to work collectively together to do what the Catholic people want them to do.” He added, “Leo is cautious, but I think he will continue on Pope Francis’ trajectories. I don’t think he will go back.”
Francis, who led the Church for 12 years, died in April. Leo, formerly U.S. Cardinal Robert Prevost, was elected pope in May.
The Vatican said 170 of the 245 cardinals worldwide attended the summit, which concluded on Thursday. Spokesman Matteo Bruni explained that clerics were asked to refrain from publicly discussing the meetings to ensure frank dialogue.
Opening his first full year as the Church’s leader, Pope Leo sought guidance from the cardinals on key priorities for the next two years. British Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe urged his peers to avoid internal quarrels, warning that “if they quarrel with one another, we shall be of no use to the Holy Father.”
