Prayers for a New Leader

 

I am not a Catholic, and I don’t usually pay much attention to who the Pope is or what he has to say. As a Protestant, I do not believe that the bureaucracy and hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church through the centuries has been entirely Biblical. But as a Christian believer, I have come to understand that I cannot just ignore what happens at the Vatican.

That’s because, whether I like it or not, for billions of people around the world (both followers and onlookers) the Catholic Pope represents all of Christianity and what it stands for. People everywhere look to him to make moral, social, and spiritual decisions for them and to guide their views on politics and world affairs. Even though I don’t adhere to all of the tenets of the Catholic Church, my identification as a Christian is viewed by many through the lens of what the Pope says. So his character, his words, and his actions affect the witness I have in the world to non-believers. We are connected as “Christians” even though we don’t have the exact same beliefs.

The late Pope Francis did a lot to change the Catholic Church in positive ways. By all first impressions, it appears that Pope Leo XIV will continue to bring a softer, more relevant approach to his role as Francis did. Humility goes a long way, and it seems that Leo possesses this trait like his predecessor did. Will he make all the right decisions and get everything Biblically correct now that he is the Pope? Of course not, because he isn’t God; and only Jesus lived a perfect life. But if he daily seeks God’s help, he will be guided by God and lead with both truth and grace like Jesus did.

I hope the Catholic Church continues to see reform and seeks to align itself more closely with the Biblical model of the church body, with Christ alone as the head. What happens at the Vatican affects every Christian worldwide regardless of denomination. And as Protestant Christians, instead of separating ourselves from other denominations and ignoring what they do, we can pray for God’s truth to triumph in our broken world . . . and that He will use each of us, including the Pope, to further His kingdom and bring more and more people in this world to know Him and love Him. Whether justified or not, the Pope carries a huge weight of responsibility and will be held accountable by God. He needs all the prayers he can get.