Lay Catholics Expected to Retain Big Role in Pope Leo XIV’s Church

We have been more resistant than those that wanted to resist,

said de Franssu

There was no strong governance, the rules were not respected, we did not have the right competence,

de Franssu recalled of his early days at IOR

Francis has started the process, I'm sure Leo XIV will continue,

Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, ... a French businessman who was appointed to the role by Francis in 2014 as part of a radical overhaul of the Holy See's economic framework, told AFP

You could see he appreciated the contribution of everyone, and he also came across as a very good listener,

Archbishop Nkea Fuanya said

If you look at a country like Australia, which had a five-year inquiry into sexual abuse, the notion of a culture of clericalism was part of the analysis of what needed to be addressed,

Ms. Pascoe said

These cardinals who typically sit on their thrones, ... for them to sit equally with a 19-year-old and listen to me” made him feel like “we’re all in this together.”

Mr. Olivas said

So a cardinal archbishop from an ancient diocese had to listen to a 20-year-old college student from Philadelphia, and that is quite threatening to some people,

said Father Martin

Gerhard Ludwig Müllercardinal

Synodality for some people is an ideology,

said Gerhard Ludwig Müller, a conservative cardinal from Germany

Every voice had equal value,

said Susan Pascoe, the business consultant, who is chair of Catholic Emergency Relief Australia

We also heard from people who were much more concerned about migrants and refugees, about poverty, about living in countries where Catholics are minorities” than about ordaining women or supporting the desires of divorced and remarried Catholics to receive communion

Father Martin said

It does not take away at all the authority, if you will, or the ministry of those who are called to specific services in the church, such as a bishop or a priest. But it does call the best gifts out of each and every one to bring them together.”

He added

I'm kind of glad for the church that I'm not Pope either, but it's a great moment of exhilaration and hope and promise for the church,

he quipped

No, I don’t know, I have no preference, ... I must say, we have a cardinal that happens to be out of a place called New York who’s very good, so we’ll see what happens.”

Trump said, though he noted

I'm just so honored as a priest, as well as a disciple of Jesus Christ, as a child of God, as a faithful Catholic, I hope, as a priest, Bishop, and Cardinal, to have been a big part of it. And I think you're all excited too,

he said

Since the First World War, popes have looked to powerful, wealthy groups, like the Knights of Columbus or Opus Dei, to fund some projects, including renovations of buildings, and in recent decades, a Papal Foundation was set up in the United States, but the situation remains precarious,

Ahern said

The Bank's historical and continued lack of transparency—even in dealing with the pope and senior Vatican officials—adds to the accounting challenge,

Dillon said

The Vatican faces significant debts and threats to its pension fund

Daniel Rober, chair of Catholic Studies at Sacred Heart University, told Newsweek

We have to seek together to be a missionary church, a church that builds bridges and dialogue, always ready to accept, like this great piazza, with its arms, we have to show our charity, presence and dialogue with love."

Pope Leo XIV, in remarks on Thursday

An additional challenge that Francis faced in reorienting the church towards the poor and critiquing the global economy is that some wealthy donors in the United States and Europe felt alienated from his priorities,

he said

Francis tried to implement structural, procedural and oversight changes in the Bank's practices, and brought in/appointed several successive external financial experts as executives, but almost each one left amid controversy and the emergence of new scandals,

she said