United States Congress / Wikimedia Commons
CV NEWS FEED // Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., issued a statement upon the May 8 election of Pope Leo XIV, expressing prayers and gratitude for the American pope’s staunch dedication to the right to life.
“Catholics — and people of good will around the world — look to the papacy for moral leadership and clarity,” Rep. Smith wrote in an emailed press release, “and we are encouraged by Pope Leo’s call for peace, his example of faith and humility and his focus on charity and upholding the dignity of the vulnerable and the poor.”
Rep. Smith then noted that while still a cardinal, Pope Leo XIV in a homily earlier this year called for the protection of human life at all stages.
“God’s mercy calls us to protect every life,” then-Cardinal Robert Prevost said, “especially those society overlooks — the child yet to be born and the elderly nearing their journey’s end — because each bears Christ’s face.”
Rep. Smith commented, “By underscoring the protection of the right to life as first among the many humanitarian responsibilities of the Church, the Pope strongly reinforces our collective responsibility to care for unborn children and their mothers.”
Rep. Smith concluded with promises of prayers for the Holy Father and the Church.
>> US bishops thank God for election of Pope Leo XIV <<
