5 Philly Catholics on the greatest challenges Pope Leo XIV faces

As 1.4 billion Catholics around the world waited to meet the new pope — a Villanova alum and first American elected to lead the Roman Catholic Church — five Catholic Philadelphians offered informed commentary as it happened with live analysis by The Inquirer Opinion desk (you can read each day’s live commentary here and here). Here, they share their assessment of the greatest challenges Pope Leo XIV confronts in these early days of his papacy.

Our obsession with technology, efficiency, artificial intelligence, and the virtual world has severely stunted authentic human flourishing. In the thought of the late Pope Francis, we’ve become disengaged digital bystanders.

I think a major challenge faced by the new pope (and the Catholic Church today in general) is that of presenting us with the dynamism of a truly human, embodied, and engaged life that’s called to a transcendent love.

We should recall the great value of community and true “face time” with others for the mutual sharing of our joys, sorrows, and our deepest longings. This is what we have always been called to do, and it is the call now for a world that appears very “connected” technologically and yet remains deeply isolated from empathetic communion and our true identity as beloved sons and daughters of God.

Bill Donaghy is a senior lecturer and content specialist for the Theology of the Body Institute.

In those first words Pope Leo XIV spoke from the balcony, “Peace be with you!” I hear the first challenge. Peace. Peace for nations at war, surely, but also peace in a time when conflict and destruction — whether it’s economic, personal, or literal — are the default responses to fear. We find ourselves in a moment when mercy seems entirely absent and when (to quote Pope Leo XIV, the first morning after his election) “appalling violations of human dignity” are taking place. Wayfinding in a war zone is never easy, but can Pope Leo XIV help guide our feet in the way of peace?

The second big challenge will be to help not only the Catholic Church but the world to listen. To keep our ears tuned to the voices on the peripheries of our societies, the voices some would wish to erase, others exploit. To help us hear the myriad ways in which the earth is groaning from the wounds we have inflicted, knowingly and unknowingly, in the name of progress. We need to not just hear the cries of the poor, the vulnerable, the earth. We need to do more than give them another seat at the table, we must give their voices precedence.

Michelle Francl-Donnay is a chemist and Catholic theologian.

The greatest challenge Pope Leo XIV faces is how he will prioritize the many challenges the world and the Catholic Church face. There are so many immediate and intersecting needs, such as climate change, concern for the poor and vulnerable, the needs of migrants and refugees, and systemic injustice.

Addressing so much at once is daunting and would overwhelm many. Pope Leo XIV’s myriad experiences — a missionary, a local bishop, prior general of the Augustinian order, and a cardinal — have readied him for the tasks ahead.

Tia Noelle Pratt is an assistant vice president and director of mission engagement and strategic initiatives in the Office for Mission and Ministry at Villanova University.

One of the many phrases our Holy Father Leo XIV used in the few opportunities he has had recently to address the church and world at large is the idea and image of “bridge building” in a world desperately in need of unity.

This continuous “bridge building” will be a significant challenge. All people need to be invited and welcomed to take those first steps to meet at a place where encounter and dialogue are possible. Thankfully, our world views the pope as a moral compass guiding us on this.

For the church, a significant aspect of this “bridge building” will rely on maintaining the hope and enthusiasm generated by the Holy Spirit in this recent conclave.

Hugh Joseph Shields is a former vicar of the Office for Hispanic Catholics of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

My prayer is that the man the cardinals selected as pope can help us renew a sense of communion. The Catholic Church is at its best when our efforts foster union and cultivate love, when we function not as a bureaucracy needing to be managed, but as a mystery of mutual relationships in which we experience oneness through Christ.

Pope Leo XIV cannot manufacture the communion that leads to justice and peace. But he can choose a path of encounter and go to the margins to hear excluded voices. Each person invested in the life of the church can participate in the same way. The Holy Father remarked in his first greeting, “Without fear, united hand in hand with God, and among ourselves, let us move forward.” It seems that he is ready to walk this way together.

Bethany J. Welch is a sister of St. Joseph of Philadelphia.