Thursday, July 10, 2025
6:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. EDT
Location: Online Via Livestream
Pope Leo XIV brings to the papacy his roots in the United States, an Augustinian religious vocation, decades of ministry in a poor diocese in Peru, and service to Pope Francis at the Vatican. He began his papacy by calling for peace, mercy, and justice in our hurting world. He spoke of the importance of building bridges and has a track record of doing so.
In choosing the name of Leo XIV, our new Holy Father honors Pope Leo XIII, the father of modern Catholic social teaching who championed the dignity of work and the rights of workers. Pope Leo XIV said he chose his name
- “because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the church offers everyone the treasury of its social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice, and labor.”
This dialogue will take a deeper look at how Cardinal Robert Prevost became the first pope from the United States and the significance of his choice of Leo XIV as his name. It will also examine the legacy of Leo XIII and the potential role of Catholic social teaching in the leadership of Pope Leo XIV. In addition, the dialogue will explore some of the “new things (rerum novarum)” we face today in our Church, nation, and world, along with the implications in U.S. public life of a pope with roots in the United States, ministry in Latin America, and leadership in our global Church.
Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative, member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, and an expert participant in the 2021-2024 Synod on Synodality, will moderate the dialogue. Daniels was part of the coverage of the election of Pope Leo XIV on CNN, MSNBC, NBC, PBS, the New York Times, and other media.
Recording
The dialogue starting at 6:00 p.m. EDT will be recorded and posted online for later viewing.
Photo © Mazur/Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
Participants
John Carr
John Carr is the founder of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University. He served for over 20 years as director of the Department of Justice, Peace, and Human Development at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and is a leading voice on Catholic social teaching at the intersection of faith and public life in the United States.
Emilce Cuda
Emilce Cuda is an Argentinian theologian with an expertise in Catholic social teaching. She is the secretary of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America at the Holy See, where she was an advisor to Pope Francis and worked closely with Cardinal Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV. Cuda is also an advisor for the Latin America and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM), an adjunct professor at Loyola University Chicago, and a counselor and professor at Cebitepal, a training center for CELAM.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin
Cardinal Joseph Tobin is the archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, and was a participant in the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV. He came to know the new pope through his service as a member of the Dicastery for Bishops and when they served as leaders of their Redemptorist and Augustinian religious communities in Rome.
Christopher White
Christopher White is currently the Vatican correspondent for National Catholic Reporter (NCR) and the author of the forthcoming book Pope Leo XIV: Inside the Conclave and the Dawn of a New Papacy (July 2025). He is a Vatican analyst for NBC News and MSNBC, and he was part of the coverage of the funeral of Pope Francis and of the election of Pope Leo XIV on NBC, NCR, and other media. White will join the Initiative this July as associate director for strategic engagement and senior fellow.
Accessibility
All accommodation requests should be sent to cathsocialthought@georgetown.edu by Monday, July 7. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill requests.