The members of the North American College of Gnostic Bishops, severally and together, wish to send their congratulations and Apostolic blessings to His Holiness, Pope Francis, on his election to the most holy calling of Bishop of Rome for the Catholic Church. May his rule be just, and may he be a worthy representative of Christ’s love for us on Earth.
The former Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio SJ of Buenos Aires, Argentina has been described by many as a man of great personal humility with a strong commitment to the social teaching of the Catholic Church. In an age of, on the one hand, so much focus on material advancement and conspicuous consumption; and on the other so much poverty throughout the world, such qualities bespeak of man of great personal integrity and holiness. In his choice of regnal name, His Holiness has chosen to honour St. Francis of Assisi, a symbol of simplicity of life and humility revered throughout the Christian west.
As the first member of the Society of Jesus and the first bishop from the New World to reign as Bishop of Rome, Francis represents an historic transformation in the papacy. As such, he is uniquely poised to lead the Catholic Church into a new age in the third millennium of Christianity.
We earnestly pray that God will bless and keep His Holiness, and that his pontificate may be a benediction and a gift to the Catholic Church and to all the peoples of the world. We pray that his pontificate may be marked by the commitment to spirituality and the well-being of the human family that have characterised the very best of his predecessors on the Throne of St. Peter. As his fellow workers and servants of the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, we congratulate him on his ascension to the Pontifical Throne, and join him and all women and men of good will throughout the world in his prayer for peace and justice.

The North American College of Gnostic Bishops is saddened to learn of the repose of His Eminence, the Most Reverend Dmitri, retired Archbishop of Dallas and the Diocese of the South of the Orthodox Church in America.