Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe found Pope Leo XIV ‘listens deeply and responds thoughtfully’ when they met

Perth’s Archbishop says the new leader of the Catholic Church is a man who “listens deeply and responds thoughtfully”, having met him several times. Archbishop Timothy Costelloe — who is also the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president — welcomed the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the Pope on Friday, now to be known as Pope Leo XIV. Archbishop Costello said he believed the new Pope would lead with compassion with a focus on peace and those in poverty. “He didn’t speak for very long when he appeared on the balcony ... but most of what he said was about peace,” he said. “Of course, we all know the dreadful situation right around the world in terms of a lack of peace and threats to peace. Archbishop Costelloe met Pope Leo on a number of occasions, the latest in October last year. “There were a number of the things that struck me about him,” he said. “He’s very attentive when you speak to him. He had a pad and he was writing down notes about various things that I was talking about. “He listens deeply and he responds thoughtfully. They were the two things that struck me very strongly.” He said those qualities would help Pope Leo to focus on current challenges facing the Catholic Church including the church’s sexual abuse crisis, understanding why church attendance is dropping in the Western world and growth of Catholicism in places like Africa and Asia. Australia will host the International Eucharistic Congress in 2028 and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would formally invite the pontiff to visit for the gathering. Archbishop Costelloe said if he was able to speak to the Pope before then he would “certainly be inviting him to come to Western Australia”. Archbishop Costelloe will be flying to Rome in the coming days for Pope Leo’s formal appointment.