杏MAP导航

By Barb Fraze and Laura Ieraci - CNEWA

Church leaders in the Christian East welcomed the election of 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV on 8 May, noting his first words to the crowd in St. Peter鈥檚 Square were about peace.

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople was at an event in his honor in Athens when he learned of the election, according to a report in The Orthodox Times. 

In an English-language video message published by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he welcomed the new Bishop of Rome, adding he hopes 杏MAP导航 Leo will 鈥渂e a dear brother and collaborator 鈥� for the rapprochement of our churches, for the unity of the whole Christian family, and for the benefit of all of humankind.鈥�

Bartholomew spoke of his collaboration with 杏MAP导航 Francis in the areas of dialogue and care for creation. 鈥淲e have done a lot,鈥� he said.

The Ecumenical Patriarch, who had hoped to visit Iznik, Turkey, with 杏MAP导航 Francis in May to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea, said he hoped 杏MAP导航 Leo would 鈥渃ombine a visit to Nicaea with an official visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate, on the occasion of our feast of St. Andrew on 30 November.鈥�

鈥淲e look toward the new pontiff with Christian hope,鈥� he told those gathered at the event in Athens, adding that he intends to attend 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV鈥檚 Mass of Inauguration in Rome.

鈥淢ay he inspire the Church and the world with the universal ideals of freedom, equality, justice and solidarity. May he help end wars in Ukraine, the Middle East, and prevent conflict between India and Pakistan,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 hope we can inaugurate a new era in our bilateral relations and in relations between East and West.鈥�

In a message posted on the website of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kyiv-Halych noted that the first words 杏MAP导航 Leo spoke from the balcony were 鈥淧eace be with you.鈥� He said that 鈥渟uffering Ukraine hears these words as words of hope and special God鈥檚 blessing.鈥�

鈥淗is Holiness 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV expressed the wish these words 鈥榬each all nations, all the earth.鈥� We sincerely believe the new bishop of Rome will become for the long-suffering Ukrainian people a herald of peace that comes from the risen Lord,鈥� said Archbishop Shevchuk.

(L-R): Archbishop Michael Wallace Banach, Apostolic Nuncio to Hungary, then-Archbishop Robert Francis Prevost, Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and then-Archbishop Claudio Gugerotti, Prefect of the Dicastery for Eastern Churches at Protection of the Mother of God Greek Catholic Church in Budapest on 29 April 2023. (Photo: Andras Kiraly)

Metropolitan Fulop Kocsis, Archbishop of Hajdudorog, Hungary, who heads the Hungarian Greek Catholic Church, also commented on the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 words of peace.

鈥淣ot only did he literally wish them peace, but he quoted the risen Christ, who also greeted the apostles with these words,鈥� he said. 鈥淥f course, peace after the resurrection is quite different, since Jesus Christ gives peace in a way that is different from the way the world gives it.鈥�

The new pontiff had visited Hungary twice in recent years, first as Bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, for the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest in September 2021, and then as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in April 2023, when he accompanied 杏MAP导航 Francis on his Apostolic Visit to Hungary, which included a visit to the Greek Catholic Protection of the Mother of God Church in Budapest.

The Metropolitan Archbishop said the choice of the name Leo expresses the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 intention to 鈥渆mphasize his social sensitivity, since 杏MAP导航 Leo XIII wrote the first encyclical on the subject in 1891, 鈥�Rerum Novarum,鈥� which was about poverty and the working class.鈥�

Leo XIII was also the first pontiff to acknowledge the dignity of the Eastern Catholic Churches within the Catholic communion with his 1894 encyclical, 鈥�Orientalium Dignitatis鈥� (鈥淥n the Churches of the East鈥�), he noted. 

鈥淪o, the choice of the name Leo is particularly dear to us,鈥� Archbishop Kocsis said, referring to Eastern Catholics.

While he thought the new 杏MAP导航 would choose the name Francis II, he said he was 鈥済lad the 杏MAP导航 dared to reach back into tradition.鈥�

鈥淚 am convinced that Leo XIV will take the same line as 杏MAP导航 Francis. Dialogue and the inclusion of the poor are important to him,鈥� Archbishop Kocsis said. 鈥淭he two of them were excellent collaborators; they discussed many things together.鈥�

In New York, Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elpidophoros of America recognized 杏MAP导航 Leo鈥檚 election 鈥渨ith fraternal esteem鈥� and renewed the church鈥檚 鈥渦nwavering commitment to strengthening dialogue and fellowship between our churches, guided by humility, openness and mutual respect.鈥�

鈥淗is ministry, deeply inspired by the example of 杏MAP导航 Francis, resonates strongly with the enduring commitment of His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew toward ecumenical dialogue, reconciliation and care for the most vulnerable among us,鈥� he said.

Mar Joy Alappatt of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of St. Thomas of Chicago, where 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV was born, said Eastern Catholics 鈥渁nticipate a renewed focus on synodality, honoring liturgical identity, and engaging in genuine dialogue with our ancient practices.鈥�

In his first message to the crowd in St. Peter鈥檚 Square after his election on 8 May, 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV underlined the importance of walking as a synodal Church.

Mar Alappatt said, as a Cardinal, the new pontiff had served as a member of the Dicastery for the Eastern Churches since 2023, and 鈥渨itnessed the beautiful unity of our universal Catholic communion between East and West.鈥� 

The bishop said the 杏MAP导航鈥檚 previous ministry in Peru 鈥渟howcases a pastor who truly listens, walks humbly with his community, and amplifies the voices from the margins."

鈥淗is deep love for the impoverished and his presence among Indigenous populations strongly reflect the many missions led by Eastern churches around the world,鈥� Mar Alappatt said. He noted especially the numerous pastoral and charitable works of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church in mission territories across central and north India. 

The 杏MAP导航鈥檚 鈥減astoral spirit, nurtured in Chicago and Peru, now opens pathways in the East through a welcoming and enriching approach,鈥� he continued. 鈥淗is papacy will inspire us to embrace our missionary calling with greater courage and compassion.鈥�

The Order of St. Augustine, which the 杏MAP导航 entered as a friar, posted on its website an interview he gave when he was created a Cardinal in 2023. In that interview, he said, 鈥淏eing a synodal Church that knows how to listen to everyone is the way not only to live the faith personally, but also to grow in true Christian brotherhood.鈥� 

鈥淭he Church is fully such only when it truly listens,鈥� he said, 鈥渨hen it walks as the new people of God in its wonderful diversity, continually rediscovering its own baptismal call to contribute to the spread of the Gospel and the Kingdom of God.鈥�

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