Unity, not nationality has led to Pope Leo's elections, say the American cardinals

Rome (CNS)-Although it is interesting and perhaps even a point of pride that the new Pope Leo XIV was born in the United States, most of the American cardinals who participated in the conclave which elected it said that nationality was not a factor.

“I think that the impact of him as an American was almost negligible in the deliberations of the conclave and surprising,” said Cardinal Robert W. Mcelroy de Washington on May 9 at a press conference at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

“What surprised me is the real absence of what is a key question,” said the cardinal.

The American cardinals pose for a photo after the conclave and the first mass of the cardinals with Pope Leo XIV on May 9, 2025. Illustrated at the Pontifical North American College in Rome are the Cardinals Robert W. Mcelroy de Washington; Daniel Dinardo, retired archbishop of Galveston-Hoyon; And Wilton D. Gregory, retired archbishop of Washington. (CNS Photo / Kendall McLaren)

Cardinal Daniel N. Dinardo, retired archbishop of Galveston-Hoy, told journalists that even if the cardinals have chosen a pope who is an American citizen, “he is really a citizen around the world since he spent so much his life, his ministry, his missionary work and zeal for Christ in South America”, mainly in Peru.

Cardinal Timothy Mr. DOLAN DOLAN DE NEW YORK said: “The fact that he was born in the United States of America, a boy, is a feeling of pride and gratitude for us”, but the new Pope is also a citizen of Peru. And he works in the Roman Curia as a prefect of the Dicastery for bishops in the past two years.

“He is a citizen of the world,” said Cardinal Dolan.

“Where he comes from, it's now a kind of thing from the past. You know, Robert Francis Prevost is no longer there. He is now Pope Leo,” said the cardinal. “He is the pontiff of the Universal Church. Where he comes from, (it's) secondary.”

The cardinals were invited to know to what extent people could interpret the election of the Pope Leo “as a reflection of the desire of the cardinals to offer a counterweight to the global influence of President Trump”.

Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, Washington's retired arch, said: “Cardinals were fully aware of the things that happened in the United States, statements that have been made, political actions that have been taken.”

“But what the cardinals were mainly concerned about them, at least of my conversations with them,” said Cardinal Gregory, “was:” who among us can bring us together; Who among us can strengthen faith and bring faith in places where it has become weak, bringing faith together in places where there seems to be less enthusiasm or appreciation of the common things that bring us together? “”

Cardinal Timothy M. DOLAN DOLAN DE NEW YORK is again welcomed to the Pontifical North American College, the American seminar in Rome, on May 9, 2025, after the Conclave and the first mass of the cardinals with Pope Leo. (CNS Photo / Kendall McLaren)

Cardinal Dolan replied: “He should not surprise us that we would consider Pope Leo as a bridge manufacturer. This is what the Latin word` “ `pontiff”. He is a bridge manufacturer. Will he build bridges with Donald Trump? I suppose, but he wanted to build bridges with the leader of each nation. So I don't think so.

The cardinals of the press conference all mentioned the cardinals in the conclave in search of someone who could proclaim the Gospel and strengthen the unity of the Church while pursuing the approach and projects of Pope Francis.

“We are looking for someone to follow Francis' path, but we are not looking for photocopy,” said Cardinal Mcelroy.

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich de Chicago speaks during a press conference on May 9, 2025 at the Pontifical North American College in Rome with other American cardinals who participated in the election of Pope Leo XIV. (CNS Photo / Kendall McLaren)

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich de Chicago, the hometown of Pope Leo, told journalists that the church does not speak of replacements for a bishop or a pope, but successors for them.

“This is a very important distinction to make, and that's also what we are looking for,” said Cardinal Cupich. The cardinals wondered: “Who could advance not only the ministry, life and tradition of François, but everything that preceded him, in particular of this pivotal moment of life in the church (which was) the second advice of the Vatican.”

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, Papal Nonce in the United States, speaks at a press conference with American cardinals at the Pontifical North American College in Rome on May 9, 2025. The cardinals spoke of the conclave and the election of Pope Leo XIV. (CNS Photo / Lola Gomez)

Cardinal Christophe Pierre, the papal nuncio in the United States, quoted the French poet Charles Peguy: “It all starts in mysticism and ends with politics.”

The conclave was the opposite, he said. At the time of the preparation of the conclave, the media had particularly taken a political vision of the election of the new pope.

“What I experienced is that it all starts in politics and ends with mysticism. This is what we have experienced” in the conclave, “said Cardinal Pierre. The conclave began “in this kind of confusion” of languages, cultures and not to know each other.

The only solution, he said, has been to dialogue and listen to each other, put aside prejudices and conclude a process of prayer discernment.

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, NJ, speaks with press members after a press conference with American cardinals at the Pontifical North American College in Rome on May 9, 2025, after the election of Pope Leo XIV. (CNS Photo / Lola Gomez)

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, said that he had known Pope Leo for 30 years; They were in Rome together in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when Cardinal Tobin was a general general of the Redemptorists and Pope Leo was superior of the Augustinian brothers. More recently, Cardinal Tobin was a member of the Dicastery for Bishops, where Cardinal Robert F. Prefost at the time was prefect.

Speaking of the international experience of the new pope, Cardinal Tobin first called him “Bob” then corrected, “Pope Leo”.

Describing the style of leadership of the new pope, Cardinal Tobin said: “I don't think he is the one who likes to choose fights, but it is not to go back if the cause is right. And I assume that the last thing I would say about Bob is that he is really a listener, then he acts.”

Cardinal Tobin said that during the real elections of the Sistine Chapel, when he went up to vote while the result became clearer, he walked by the pre-cardinal of the time, “who had his head in his hands”.

“I was praying for him, because I could not imagine what happens to a human being when you are confronted with something like that. And then when he accepted it, it was as if he were done for that,” said the Cardinal. “All the anxiety or everything that was resolved by the feeling – I think – that it was not just his saying yes to a proposition, but that God had specified something, and he agreed with it.”

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