Sunshine Cathedral Bishops Offer Blessings to Pope Leo XIV
Pope Leo XIV (formerly Cardinal Robert F. Prevost) offers his blessing to Rome and to the world after his election as the 267th Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, May 8th, 2025, Vatican City.
May 8th, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The bishops of the Sunshine Cathedral offer this advice and this blessing to Pope Leo XIV, considered by Roman Catholics be the 267th pontiff, the latest in the spiritual lineage of St. Peter:
“I exhort the presbyters among you, as a fellow presbyter and witness to the sufferings of Christ and who has a share in the glory to be revealed. Tend the flock of God in your midst, overseeing not by constraint but willingly, as God would have it, not for shameful profit but eagerly. Do not lord it over those assigned to you but be examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” (1 Peter 5.1-4)
Cardinal Robert Francis took the name Leo XIV. The new Pope is a Canon Lawyer, an Augustinian, a former church leader in Peru, and the first pope ever from the United States.
The last pope Leo led the Church from 1878 to 1903. His advocacy of workers’ rights and his opposition to autocracy as well as to laissez-faire capitalism earned him the unofficial title, “The Workers’ Pope.” He believed that pastoral ministry was meant to be a vehicle for social justice.
The bishops of Sunshine Cathedral hope that Leo XIV shares this commitment to justice.
In his brief inaugural address, which he delivered in Italian and in Spanish, Pope Leo XIV praised the ministry of his predecessor, Pope Francis. Francis was known for his kindly nature, his pastoral approach to human needs rather than relying on dogmatism, and his commitment to justice and peace.
The bishops of the Sunshine Cathedral hope that Leo XIV will continue to model pastoral, rather than overly doctrinaire, leadership.
In his blessing to the world today, Pope Leo invoked the aid and intercessions of Ss. Peter and Paul (faithful ministers who often did not see eye to eye), St. John the Baptizer (who risked great peril in speaking truth to power), and the Blessed Lady, St. Mary (who stood with Jesus until his last breath, and then is said to have led the church in Jerusalem for a while).
The bishops of Sunshine Cathedral hope that these invocations signal a desire to work ecumenically, a commitment to stand up to despotic leaders no matter the country they are from, and a willingness to stand firm in difficult times and offer hope in the wake of heartache.
The bishops of Sunshine Cathedral further hope that Pope Leo will be at least as open to the LGBTQ+ community as Pope Francis was and, if he might dare to be even more welcoming and inclusive, we would certainly praise his efforts.
May God bless the new pope to be a blessing to the Roman Catholic Church and to the world.
Faithfully,
Bishop Durrell Watkins
Bishop Robert Griffin
