Homily for the 4th Sunday of Easter
11 May 2025
Readings: Acts 13:14,43-52; Psalm 99; Apocalypse 7:9,14-17; John 10:27-30
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None of us expected the declaration ‘Habemus Papam’ within 24 hours of the commencement of the conclave. The 133 cardinals came from such diverse places. During COVID, the new cardinals had not got the chance to get to know each other. Like many of us, they were still playing catch up. There was no hurry for the cardinals to make a decision. The shortest conclave of the past century is an indication that the supermajority of cardinals were left in no doubt that Robert Francis Prevost was their man.
I knew that the cardinals would not appoint another Jesuit – like Francis. And I never expected that the cardinals would choose a man from another religious order – this time the Augustinians. Prior to Francis, all the popes any of us have known during our lifetime started life as a diocesan priest, working his way up the ordinary diocesan structures. For the past twelve years, commentators were fond of pointing out, and not without reason, that Francis was a Jesuit, and that many of his moves and attitudes were informed by his distinctive Jesuit training and spirituality. As most of the cardinals were not members of religious orders, I expected they would favour a return to normalcy, rather than electing one from another religious order.
I never expected, especially in the age of Trump, that the cardinals would elect an American, even one who had considerable experience in the global south (Peru) and who had lengthy experience of governance in Rome.[1]
We Catholics believe that the Holy Spirit plays a role in the papal election, and not just because the process is shrouded in secrecy and majesty behind the locked doors of the Sistine Chapel. So here’s hoping.
The unassuming Robert Prevost ticks all the boxes. He was well educated at Villanova University in Philadelphia and concluded his tertiary studies with a doctorate in canon law at a conservative institution in Rome. He worked for a decade as a missionary in Peru – training new priests and working in parishes. There he knew difficult times for missionaries, especially those coming from the USA. While he was in Peru, Australia’s own religious sister Irene McCormick was assassinated by the Shining Path rebels on suspicion that she was pedalling American medicines to help the poor.
He was twice elected superior general of the Augustinians. So he had twelve years travelling the globe getting to know the church scene in every country where his men ministered. He developed a great proficiency in the key European languages. When made a bishop he returned to his beloved Peru and then we was brought to Rome where Pope Francis instated him as the head of the dicastery choosing new bishops. He was sympathetic to the Francis agenda, speaking in support of care for the environment, the rights of migrants and the need for the church to reach out to the poor. He participated in Francis’s synod on synodality and strongly endorsed the process. All the time, he was known to be careful, measured, and respectful – as befits a church leader with a doctorate in canon law.[2]
As pope, he has chosen the name Leo. This is the surest sign that he is a safe pair of hands acceptable to all sides in the ecclesiastical culture wars, while being committed to the vision of Pope Francis. He has taken the name after the great pope Leo XIII who wrote what Pope John Paul II called the ‘immortal document’: Rerum Novarum. At the end of the nineteenth century, Leo XIII was concerned about the rights of workers. He wrote about the relationship between church and state. He was seeking a middle path between capitalism and socialism. He affirmed the right of private property but was insistent that the wealthy should share their excess with those in need. He was the first pope of social justice. He wrote: ‘Rights must be religiously respected wherever they exist, and it is the duty of the public authority to prevent and to punish injury, and to protect every one in the possession of his own. Still, when there is question of defending the rights of individuals, the poor and badly off have a claim to especial consideration. The richer class have many ways of shielding themselves, and stand less in need of help from the State; whereas the mass of the poor have no resources of their own to fall back upon, and must chiefly depend upon the assistance of the State. And it is for this reason that wage-earners, since they mostly belong in the mass of the needy, should be specially cared for and protected by the government.’[3] These were revolutionary words back in 1891.
In 1991, John Paul II celebrated the centenary of Rerum Novarum with an encyclical entitled Centesimus Annus. John Paul meant ‘to show that the vital energies rising from that root have not been spent with the passing of the years, but rather have increased even more’[4]. Those who have been so critical of Pope Francis for his bold teaching can be reassured that this new pope is one who will respect the rigour and constancy of John Paul II’s thought on social issues, and the radical teaching of Leo XIII.
Time will tell how our new pope deals with the present neuralgic issues in the Church, including the possible ordination of women deacons and the blessing of same sex unions. Being a canon lawyer, he is not likely to repeat some of the loose language employed by Francis. But being an Augustinian committed to truth and love for all, he can be expected to extend pastoral solicitude to those on the peripheries, wrestling with the hard questions as to how the church can be more inclusive.
Addressing the crowd in St Peter’s Square, he showed most emotion when he declared: ‘To the Church of Rome a special greeting! We must seek together how to be a missionary Church, a Church that builds bridges, dialogue, always open to receive like this square with open arms. Everyone, everyone who needs our charity, our presence, dialogue and love.’[5]
Wishing all mothers a Happy Mother’s Day, let’s recall that when addressing the crowd on Thursday evening, our new pope, who has a great devotion to Mary as did Francis, said: ‘Today is the day of Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii. Our Mother Mary always wants to walk with us, to be close, to help us with her intercession and love. So I would like to pray together with you. Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole Church, for peace in the world, and let us ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace.’ We thank God for our mothers who have walked with us, being close, and helping us with their intercession and love.
For us Australians, the good news is that Leo has been to our shores, and more than once, when he was superior general of the Augustinians. Without fanfare, he visited his men in their schools and parishes here in Australia. He was in Sydney for World Youth Day in 2008. At the same time as he was superior general of his order in Rome, our own progressive bishop Vincent Long from Parramatta was in Rome as assistant general of his religious order. They are known to have a mutual admiration of each other. In 2028, Sydney will host a Eucharistic Congress and prime minister Albanese has already extended the invitation for the pope to attend.
All up, Catholics and all people of good will should be heartened that the cardinals in record time have elected a shepherd who is a safe pair of hands inspired by the words of St Augustine: ‘God provides the wind. Man must raise the sail.’
[1] Listen at https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/am/pope-leo-xiv-as-new-leader-of-the-catholic-church-/105194240
[2] Listen at https://www.2gb.com/pope-leo-cardinals-elect-the-1st-pontiff-from-america/
[3] See https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html, at #37.
[4] See https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_jp-ii_enc_01051991_centesimus-annus.html, at #1.
[5] See https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2025/05/08/0299/00524.html
