VATICAN CITY – In his first mass as the new leader of the Catholic Church on Friday, Pope Leo XIV warned materialism and cautioned that losing one’s faith can have “dramatic side effects.”
These include finding that “the meaning of life is lost, mercy is forgotten, human dignity is violated in the most dramatic ways, the crisis of the family and many other wounds from which our society is suffering significantly,” he said, speaking in Italian.
The comments came one day after Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was announced as the first US pontiff, with white smoke emerging from the Sistine Chapel chimney after four rounds of voting in the papal conclave.
Now Pope Leo XIV, he presided over the first mass as leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics on Friday morning, flanked by cardinals in the Vatican’s Sistine Chapel.
Leo was clad in a long white robe and wearing a traditional mitre. He wore dark shoes, not the red shoes worn by many previous popes, which his predecessor Francis had also eschewed.
The 69-year-old said faith is regarded as something “absurd,” as something for “weak and unintelligent people.”
Faith is often replaced by other things such as technology, money, success, power and pleasure, he said.
He added that the figure of Jesus Christ is often seen merely as a “charismatic leader or superhuman.” This, he said, was effectively a form of atheism.
US pope considered a centrist
Chicago-born Leo, 267th pontiff in two millennia of Church history, is considered a centrist who does not shy away from criticizing politics. US President Donald Trump was among the first to congratulate him, calling it a “great honor” for the United States.
However Prevost had repeatedly criticized the policies of the Trump administration. Before his appointment as a cardinal, he spent many years as a missionary and bishop in Peru, where he also holds citizenship.
There is much anticipation about whether he will continue the cautious reform course of the Argentinian Francis – or be deferential to conservative cardinals who want a more traditional direction. In Europe, the Catholic Church has recently seen a significant decline in membership, driven by numerous abuse scandals. However, the number of Catholics is growing on other continents.
No immediate changes
Leo has decided to temporarily keep the current heads of the Vatican’s key offices and institutions in their positions, the Holy See said on Friday. He has also not yet decided whether he will reside in the Apostolic Palace like previous popes. Francis lived for 12 years in a relatively modest apartment in the Vatican guesthouse Santa Marta.
Reactions keep coming
Following his Thursday’s election, congratulations poured in from around the world and the well wishes continued on Friday.
“I believe we have found the right candidate,” German Cardinal Rainer Maria Woelki told Domradio, a German-Catholic broadcaster based in Cologne, where Woelki is archbishop. He was one of three German cardinals eligible to vote.
Woelki pointed out Leo’s extensive pastoral experience in Peru, saying the new pope is therefore familiar with different worlds and can be “a bridge builder.”
Woelki said Leo’s election after only four rounds of voting is “a very good indicator” that the Church hierarchy is behind him.
“There are not the major divisions and differences that were being talked about.”
In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry hopes Russia’s exchange with the Vatican will continue under the new pope.
“We value the constructive cooperation with the Vatican in resolving a number of humanitarian issues in the context of the conflict in Ukraine,” the ministry said in a statement published on its website.
The relationship is based on a mutual commitment to “traditional spiritual and moral values” and a similar approach to issues of global development and the establishment of a just world order, the Russian ministry said.
Leo’s predecessor, pope Francis had repeatedly called for peace in Ukraine, which Russia invaded more than three years ago.
In March, the former pontiff said the underdog, meaning Ukraine, must have the courage to negotiate, a statement that drew criticism worldwide, as some saw it as suggesting Kiev capitulate.
Relations between Russian Orthodox Church and the Catholic one have not always been smooth, with the Russian Church accusing Catholics of trying to proselytize Russians for years.
In 2016, the first ever meeting was held between the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, Kirill I and Francis, the pope then.
Busy days ahead
The new pontiff has a packed schedule for the coming days, including an expected appearance at around midday on Sunday on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica for the traditional Regina Coeli prayer.
Pope Leo is to be inaugurated on May 18 with a mass in St Peter’s Square, the Vatican said later, in a ceremony due to take place at 10 am (0800 GMT) next Sunday in the Vatican. The first of his weekly general audiences is planned for May 21.
(ddpa)