CARDINALS MUST be “in the boat of Peter’s successor” and accompany him to face the “storms of our times,” Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, O.P., said in his meditation during the first extraordinary consistory of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate on Jan. 7-8.
In his message during the meeting of the pope’s closest collaborators at the Vatican, the former Dominican master general reminded the cardinals to help the pope, who cannot be alone he carries out his ministry.
“Peter must not go into the storm alone. This is our first obedience, to be in the barque of Peter, with his successor, as he faces the storms of our times,” Radcliffe said.
“If the boat of Peter is filled with disciples who quarrel, we shall be of no use to the Holy Father. If we are at peace with each other in love, even when we disagree, God will indeed be present even when he seems to be absent,” he said.
Radcliffe stressed that as the Church is shaken by “her own storms,” such as sexual abuse and ideological division, the cardinals must “sail out into these storms” and face them truthfully.
He encouraged his fellow cardinals to stand together and not be afraid, as they all journey through growing violence, wars, gaps between the rich and poor and uncertainties of artificial intelligence.
“Sometimes we too shall feel alone, burnt out, exhausted. But Jesus is watching and will come closer to us than ever before. We need not be afraid. If we are not nervous, we ought to be,” Radcliffe said.
He also reminded the cardinals that their service and contributions to the Church, no matter how small, would be of great help.
“In the face of the vast challenges of our world and Church, we have so little offer. But with God’s grace, our little will be more than enough. Let us not harden our hearts but be open to the incalculable gifts of God, who bestows upon us grace without measure if we open our hands and our ears to Him and to each other,” the Dominican cardinal concluded.
Pope Leo’s first consistory is the first major gathering of the College of Cardinals since the conclave that elected him in May 2025, which Radcliffe attended.
The consistory gathered 170 cardinals from all over the world to pray and reflect on the Church’s synodality and evangelization. A.G.C. Mansineros
