The president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conference (FABC) expressed that he looks forward to the newly elected Pope Leo XIV exercising “a truly synodal leadership.”
In a statement released a day after the inaugural mass of the new Holy Father, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrão described the pope as a leader who “listens, discerns, and embraces inclusivity.”
“I do not doubt that Pope Leo XIV will speak with moral authority on several global issues, with which humanity is grappling in our times, such as the dignity of the human person, religious freedom, poverty and injustice, war and peace, dialogue and reconciliation, migration, ecology and the challenges of the artificial intelligence,” he said.
Cardinal Ferrão said he sees the new Holy Father’s eagerness to continue the “rich ecclesial legacy” of his predecessors, especially the late Pope Francis.
He said Pope Leo XIV would nurture “a Church that fosters communion, promotes participation, and is focused on its evangelizing mission at all levels, with special attention to those who live on the peripheries.”
The cardinal also noted how the pontiff’s “rich and wide experience of the ecclesial life in all the continents” will allow him to address the multi-faceted challenges confronting the Church in different contexts.
Despite being born in Chicago, then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost spent most of his life outside the United States.
He had served in Peru for over two decades as bishop of Chiclayo and became a Peruvian citizen in 2015.
Moreover, Cardinal Ferrão shared how he closely observed Pope Leo XIV during the last two Synodal Assemblies in Rome, held in October 2023 and October 2024.
“His occasional interventions during the Synod had impressed me as clear indicators of his commitment to the communional and missionary vision of the Church, as embodied in the Second Vatican Council,” he said.
The cardinal also emphasized how Pope Leo XIV called for unity in the Church during his inaugural mass, underlining its importance in the culturally diverse Asian continent.
“This is a call to the churches in Asia, so many challenges we face, but this call for unity… within the Church and… on integral human development,” said the prelate.
Furthermore, Cardinal Ferrão invited the Holy Father to visit India, his home country, where he serves as president of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) and archbishop of Goa and Daman, western India.
He said the FABC may invite Pope Leo XIV during their next plenary assembly in Malaysia in 2026.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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