Webinar: Welcoming the Pope Leo XIV

Lay Catholic Intellectuals and Professionals Building Bridges toward A Synodal Church and A Peaceful World Rooted in God’s Love

14 June 2025

The Role of Catholic Intellectuals and Professionals in the Era of Pope Leo XIV – Asian Perspective

Anselmo Lee, South Korea

It is an honor to speak with you today on the vital topic of the role of Catholic intellectuals and professionals in the era of Pope Leo XIV, particularly in light of the profound global challenges currently facing both the Church and society.

I currently serve as a Steering Committee member of the International Young Training Center (IYTC), established in 2023 in Chiang Mai, Thailand, as the Pax Romana Laudato Si’ Center—a hub for youth leadership formation. From 1997 to 2005, I served as Secretary General of ICMICA, based in Geneva (1997–2004), and earlier I was a member of the Asia-Pacific Team of IMCS, based in Hong Kong (1988–1991).

Since 2019, I have been actively involved with Pax Christi Korea as its founding Co-President, while continuing my academic and civil society work focused on research, education, and advocacy in areas such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), human rights, global governance, and civic engagement.

In September of last year, I was in Rome to help organize the Catholic Peace Forum, and I had the honor of joining a private audience with Pope Francis as a delegate of Pax Romana IMCS and ICMICA.

Just last week, I returned to Rome for the Jubilee celebrations of Ecclesial Movements, Associations, and New Communities, including the vigil and audience with Pope Leo XIV, alongside Ana Maria and Sylvia from ICMICA, as well as the IMCS International Team. I also traveled to Assisi to attend the Catholic Peace Forum, held in collaboration with Pax Christi and IYCS. The visit brought back memories of ICMICA’s 50th anniversary event in 1997, the earthquake, and our audience with Pope John Paul II.

During my time in Rome and Assisi, I had the profound opportunity to visit the tomb of Pope Francis at Santa Maria Maggiore and the resting place of St. Francis of Assisi—a deeply reflective pilgrimage to honor their spiritual legacies and lasting impact on my life.

Through this journey to Rome and Assisi, I feel I have fulfilled a lifelong dream: to encounter two Francises—St. Francis of Assisi, about 800 years ago, and Pope Francis, who departed from us just a month ago, leaving behind a profound spiritual legacy.

These experiences have offered me invaluable firsthand insight into the evolving atmosphere within the Vatican and local churches around the world. That is why the topic of this webinar is deeply personal and timely for me.

An Asian Perspective on the 2025 Papal Election

Since I am the only Asian speaker, let me offer some reflections from an Asian perspective on the 2025 papal election.

The election of Pope Leo XIV has once again reminded us that the papacy often takes unexpected turns—much like the Spirit that guides it. Yet, this surprise was not without signs. From an Asian perspective, his election carries profound meaning and symbolic resonance, especially in light of the growing vitality of the Church in Asia and Africa.

Many Asian Catholics—particularly in the Philippines had hoped to see a pope elected from Asia. Once again, the papacy moved to America again beyond Europe, but not yet into Asia or Africa.

Still, the election of Pope Leo XIV—a U.S. citizen (but least American but more Peruvian), missionary in the rural areas of Peru in the Global South, and former Superior General of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA)—signals a significant shift away from a Eurocentric model of papal leadership. Though not Asian, I believe his global formation and missionary experience set him apart as the first pope with extensive pre-papal visits to multiple countries in the Global South, offering a truly cosmopolitan pastoral imagination rooted in the peripheries.

Moreover, his travels and deep engagement—as a missionary, pastor, and superior—in countries across Africa and Asia have given him a grounded understanding of inculturation, religious diversity, structural poverty, postcolonial wounds, and the youthful spiritual energy emerging from these continents.

From an Asian viewpoint, this makes him an ideal bridge-builder at a time when the Catholic Church must balance tradition and transformation, unity and diversity, North and South. His leadership may well be a transitional pontificate, preparing the way for a more inclusive and representative future—perhaps even a pope from Africa or Asia.

For many in Asia, this is not simply a question of representation. It is a call to bring new theological, pastoral, and spiritual insights to the universal Church—especially through the triple dialogue with the poor, cultures, and religions, in the context of the profound civilizational transformation underway in Asia.

Let me now focus on the main topic on three interconnected themes:

  • The evolving identity of ICMICA,
  • The legacy of Pope Francis, and
  • The emerging leadership of Pope Leo XIV amid new and ongoing global challenges.

The Identity of Pax Romana ICMICA: Five Pillars

The very name Pax Romana ICMICA embodies five core dimensions of our identity:

  • Catholic: We are rooted in the universal Church, guided by Catholic Social Teaching, especially as developed since Rerum Novarum in 1891 under Pope Leo XIII.
  • Lay: We are composed of lay women and men, sharing co-responsibility for the Church’s mission.
  • Intellectual: We bring to bear the expertise, conscience, and vocation of scholars, professionals, and thinkers to address contemporary challenges.
  • Civil Society: We work within and through civil society, engaging institutions and movements as autonomous yet faithful actors in both society and the Church.
  • International Movement: We are a global network, with a deep commitment to amplifying voices from the Global South and building solidarity beyond borders.

A Changing Identity for a Changing World

Over the past century, the role of Catholic lay intellectuals has evolved. From helping shape early Catholic social doctrine and contributing to Vatican II, we now find ourselves in a world where our presence in civil society is both more critical—and more contested—than ever.

As Catholic “thinkers in the world,” our task is not merely to echo doctrine but to discern, critique, and propose, guided by both faith and reason.

In this sense, ICMICA today is called to act as a think tank of the Church—not in a bureaucratic or institutional sense, but as a faithful, critical, and creative witness. We are bridge-builders between the Church and the world, particularly at the intersection of theology, ethics, public life, and civil society.

The Challenges of 2025: The Age of Global Polycrisis

We enter the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV amidst what some describe as a “polycrisis”—a convergence of systemic and interconnected emergencies. I highlight just four:

  • A crisis of inequality and climate: Threatening both our common home and our shared dignity.
  • A geopolitical crisis: Marked by war, fragmentation, and what Pope Francis called a “piecemeal World War III,” with flashpoints in Ukraine, Gaza-Palestine, the Middle East, South Sudan, Kashmir, China-Taiwan, Korean peninsula, and beyond.
  • A democratic crisis: Where polarization and ideological extremism undermine civic trust.
  • A technological crisis: As AI and the digital revolution reshape labor, ethics, and even the human condition itself.

These are not isolated issues—they are systemic, and they call for integral responses rooted in justice, discernment, and hope.

Pope Francis’ Legacy: Integral Vision and Synodal Reform

Pope Francis responded to these challenges with moral clarity and pastoral courage. His encyclicals Laudato Si’ and Fratelli Tutti presented an integral vision: ecology linked with justice, peace rooted in care, and fraternity pursued through dialogue.

He promoted a Church that listens, heals, and journeys together—especially through the Synodal process, interreligious dialogue, and peacemaking efforts. His call was clear: the Church must not retreat from the world, but rather walk toward its peripheries, its wounds, and its future.

Pope Leo XIV: Continuity and New Possibilities

Pope Leo XIV inherits this rich vision but brings his own voice and charism. As the first pope from the United States and from the Augustinian tradition, he embodies a new perspective—one that could blend Pope Francis’ prophetic edge with renewed theological and philosophical reflection.

I personally expect that Pope Leo XIV will:

  • Advance the causes of peace, justice, and ecological conversion, in a way that honors the legacy of Pope Leo XIII, a pioneer of Catholic social teaching whose name he bears.
  • Deepen the Synodal Church with greater accountability and theological depth;
  • Engage technology and culture with pastoral imagination; and
  • Empower lay intellectuals and professionals as co-creators of a just and compassionate future.

The Role of ICMICA: From Rerum Novarum to the Next Chapter

More than a century ago, Catholic intellectuals helped inspire and implement Rerum Novarum, laying the foundations of modern Catholic Social Teaching. Today, we face a similar moment of kairos: Can Catholic lay intellectuals rise to the challenge again?

If we believe the answer is yes, I propose that ICMICA and IMCS jointly initiate a biennial process to update and rearticulate Rerum Novarum—beginning in 2025 as a commitment to the Jubilee Year, continuing through 2026 as a time of collective reflection and discernment, and culminating in its adoption in August 2027 during World Youth Day in Seoul.

This process would serve as a meaningful contribution to the ongoing Synodal journey (2025–2028) and the follow-up to the UN Summit of the Future, held in New York in September 2024. It could become a valuable tool for interdisciplinary, intercultural, and intergenerational discernment—a way of reading the signs of the times in light of the Holy Spirit’s call, and guiding faithful action in this new era under Pope Leo XIV.

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양식의 맨 아래

In conclusion, this is a time of crisis—but also a time of grace and possibility.
Let us reflect further what it means to be critical lovers of the Church and creative builders of the world, remaining faithful to the Gospel. In this spirit, as we mark the 800th anniversary of the Canticle of the Creatures, we are reminded of the call given to St. Francis of Assisi—to “rebuild the Church.” Like St. Francis, we too are called to respond with courage, humility, and hope.

Thank you.