Pacific church leaders hope Pope Leo will champion climate justice, Francis legacy

The leader of the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) has reacted to the election of the new pope.

Pope Leo XIV was elected by his fellow cardinals in the conclave on Thursday evening, Rome time.

Leo, 69, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, is originally from Chicago, and has spent most of his career as a missionary in Peru.

He became a cardinal only in 2023 and becomes the first-ever US pope.

PCC general secretary Reverend James Bhagwan said he is not a Vatican insider, but there had been talk of cardinals feeling that the new pope should be a "middle-of-the-road person".

Rev Bhagwan said there had been prayers for God's wisdom to guide the decisions made at the conclave.

"I think if we look at where the decisions perhaps were made or based on, there had been a lot of talk that the cardinals going into Conclave had felt that a new pope would need to be someone who could take forward the legacy of Pope Francis, reaching out to those in the margins, but also be a sort of a middle-of-the-road person," he said.

Rev Bhagwan said the Pacific hopes that Pope Leo carries on the late Pope Francis's connection to the climate change response.

He said Pope Francis released his "laudate deum" exhortation on the climate shortly before the United Nations climate summit in Dubai last year.

"The focus on care for creation, the focus for ending fossil fuels and climate justice, the focus on people from the margins - I think that's important for the Pacific people at this time.

"I know that the Catholic Church in the Pacific has been focused on on its synodal process, and so he spoke about synodality as well.

"I know that there was hopes for an Oceania synod, just as Pope Francis held a synod of the Amazon. And I think that is still something that's in the hearts of many of our Catholic leaders and Catholic members.

"We hope that this will be an opportunity to still bring that focus to the Pacific."

New Zealand's cardinal John Dew, who was in the conclave, said the new pope won't hesitate to speak out about issues around the world.

Pope Leo succeeds Pope Francis, who passed away on Easter Monday last month after a long illness. He was 88. Photo/Vatican News

He said they were confident Pope Leo would pick up many of the issues Francis was well known for, like speaking up for climate change, human trafficking and the plight of refugees; and within the church, a different way of meeting and talking with one another, known as synodality, which is an ongoing process.

"I think any pope needs to be able to challenge things that are happening around the world, especially if it is affecting the lives of people, where the poor are getting poorer and the rich are getting richer."

Pope Leo appeared to be a very calm person, he said.