‘A pope who can further peace’ - US bishops’ conference head elated over Pope Leo XIV’s election

The head of the United States bishops expressed positive hopes for the future of the Catholic Church as newly elected Pope Leo XIV’s first words revolved around peace.

In an interview with Vatican News, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said that he was “very happy” that the American-born pope spoke of peace.

When Pope Leo XIV first appeared at the balcony of Saint Peter’s Basilica after his election on May 8, his first words were “Peace be with you!”

In addition, he also expressed his desire to build “a Church that always seeks peace.”

Archbishop Broglio said that he hopes that the 69-year-old pontiff will “further peace and dialogue in our world.”

“I think all of us are extremely troubled by the situations that continue to ignite in our world. I think now of Pakistan and India. But we also have this disaster in Ukraine. We also have the Middle East and so many parts of Africa. So that he would speak of peace, I think, is essential,” said the prelate.

Moreover, Archbishop Broglio said that Pope Leo XIV’s time outside of the United States, mainly in Chile and Peru, due to missionary work makes him a great “guide of the Universal Church.”

“It's easy to get lost in your own backyard. And I think he will invite us to a more universal vision,” he said.

As the first pope from the United States, and the second from the Americas after Pope Francis, Archbishop Broglio said that Pope Leo XIV would inspire Americans to “listen to each other.”

“I hope that we'll hear that message as an invitation to us to be unified and to be instruments of dialogue,” he said.