Inside the Core: Cardinal Tobin Speaks on 'Pope Leo and the Legacy of Pope Francis'

Inside the Core this week is looking forward to Cardinal Joseph Tobin, archbishop of Newark and President of Seton Hall’s Board of Regents, coming to Seton Hall next Wednesday, March 18, to address our community on the topic of “Pope Leo and the Legacy of Pope Francis.”  The talk will be at 3:30 p.m. in the Event Room in the University Center. Following the talk, Cardinal Tobin will say Mass at the main chapel at 5 p.m.

In Core II, one of the readings in the second half of the spring semester is Pope Francis’ Laudato Si, now in its 10th anniversary. In this important text Francis argues for care of the environment, “our common home,” as being an intrinsic duty for Christians and all other people of good will. In the document he particularly expresses the idea that concern for the most marginalized people who suffer most from climate change should inform decisions regarding the environment. Pope Leo recently affirmed his own commitment to the same spirit expressed by Francis in Laudato Si.   

In an address at the Laudato Si Action Platform, celebrating the document’s tenth anniversary on October 1, 2025, Leo stressed the importance of what Francis did in writing it:

His analysis, paradigm of integral ecology, insistent call for dialogue, and appeal to address the root causes of problems and to bring the whole human family together to seek sustainable and integral development have aroused widespread interest. Let us give thanks to our Father in Heaven for this gift we have inherited from Pope Francis.

This example is just one of many legacies left to our current Holy Father by Pope Francis, to whom Leo has referred as “my beloved predecessor.”

So please join us to hear our own Cardinal Tobin, who himself has spoken out with courage and integrity on the moral and social issues of our day, in particular the plight of immigrants (another issue close to the heart of both Francis and Leo). This event is sponsored by the University Core, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology, the Catholic Studies Program and the Catholic Studies Center.

Students are encouraged to attend as they can learn from Cardinal Tobin about the legacy of those who have set the groundwork for the church of today and the values underlying both Seton Hall and, in particular, the University Core.

Categories: Faith and Service