As Moravians with a deep heritage in ecumenical kinships, we join the National Council of Churches (NCC), of which we are a member body, in affirming the recent election of Pope Leo XIV. As stated by the NCC:
“The National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC) joins Christians globally–Protestant, Orthodox, and Catholic—to congratulate and welcome Pope Leo XIV as the newly elected Supreme Pontiff and Bishop of Rome.
It is significant that Pope Leo XIV is the first American-born Pope and that his ministry experience includes Peru in the global south. His regnal name, Pope Leo XIV, may signal that he will follow in the footsteps of Pope Leo XIII—popularly called the “Social Pope” and “Pope of the Workers” because of his focus on fair wages, the rights of workers, and Catholic social teachings. In light of this, the U.S. ecumenical community sincerely hopes Pope Leo XIV’s papacy will open doors to deeper engagement with social justice issues and the plight of the most vulnerable in our world.”
We look forward to how Pope Leo XIV will sense the leading of the Holy Spirit in expressing the love and teachings of Jesus Christ that conveys the grace, love, and compassion of God for the whole world. We see in him a person who has responded to the creating, redeeming, and sustaining power of God in ways that demonstrate and cultivate faith, love, and hope.
Photo Credit: Edgar Beltrán / The Pillar, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons