In a video message posted on the diocese’s website, Bishop Manuel Linda expressed that the newly elected pope’s initial remarks indicated a vision for “an inclusive Church, a bridge-builder, open to humanity.”
“A Church (…) more spiritual, to help ferment the world with new values, specifically those of peace, fraternity, and hope,” added the Bishop of Porto.
Manuel Linda highlighted the significance of the new Pope’s choice of the name Leo.
“This takes us back to the last pope who used this designation, Leo XIII, at the end of the 19th century, a very challenging era both for the world and the Church,” he stated, emphasizing how that pope connected “the Church with the world as it is, with its joys and hopes, with its sorrows and tears.”
The Bishop of Porto also noted the importance of the encyclical Rerum Novarum, concerning the condition of workers, penned by Leo XIII, and “which would change mindsets.”
American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was elected Pope on Thursday, following two days of conclave, taking the name Leo XIV.
Born in Chicago, United States, he has Spanish ancestry and Peruvian nationality and belongs to the Order of St. Augustine. Until his election, he was the Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.
Leo XIV succeeds Pope Francis, who passed away on April 21 at the age of 88.
