Praying for the New Pope

I was just moved by these words from Timothy George, an evangelical leader, about the papal selection process:

I do think it's appropriate that we pray for the Roman Catholic Church and
for this decision, because it has momentous implications for the whole world
Christian movement.

I would hope for the new pope to be in many ways like John Paul II. I
don't mean in personality, of course, but in terms of his deep core values, that
he would honor the historic Christian faith and defend that faith against forces
that would undermine it and sidetrack it both within Catholicism and beyond.

We could pray that the next pope would continue the mission of John
Paul II in reaching out to other Christians and particularly to evangelicals in
realizing some of the things we do share in common and building on them.

I love the way George puts this. Evangelicals have significant disagreements with Roman Catholicism and the papacy in general, and the differences sparked by the reformation continue to divide us in many ways. But evangelicals also share much in common with Catholics, the most important thing being a common faith in Jesus as Savior and a desire for Him to be revealed to the world.

I intend to join George in this prayer.