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Sandra Myers
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Catholics around the world have a new pope, Leo XIV. As leader and influencer of over 1.3 billion Catholics around the world, you might be speculating about the direction the Catholic church might go next.
The first American pope, Robert Francis Prevost was born in 1955 in Chicago, Illinois. He possesses dual citizenship from both the United States and Peru (naturalized while living there).
• In 1977, Prevost began his formal religious training joining the Order of Saint Augustine as a novice. (If you were to research the saint, Augustine, you would find the LGBTQ crowd adores this particular saint.)
• Prevost has an IQ of 145 (considered genius level), speaks 7 languages, earned a Bachelor of Science in math from Villanova in 1977 (an Augustinian college), a Master of Divinity from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in 1982, and both a licentiate and doctorate in canon law from the Pontifical College of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He wrote his thesis on the leadership of the Augustinian order.
• It has recently been publicized that the new pope is of mixed-race heritage with a French Creole/Haitian background causing some, including hosts of the liberal talk show, The View, to publicly declare him “the first black pope.”
• Robert Prevost, having been under the wing of Pope Francis, was publicly presumed that he would continue church liberalization by Pope Francis. But Prevost took the name of Leo, personally stating he wants to follow in the footsteps of Pope Leo XIII (r. 1878–1903).
So who is Pope Leo XIII? One of the longest serving popes, he was an intellectual who sought to reinvigorate the Church in a time when many felt it had become irrelevant because it was stuck in the past. Leo XIII sought to convince that religion was compatible with modern life.
Leo XIII was a social justice advocate of the industrial age. He also highly promoted the rosary and became known as the Rosary Pope because he promulgated Marian devotion. In one encyclical he stressed Mary’s role in the redemption of humanity and calls her Mediatrix and Co-Redemptrix. Many recent popes have distanced themselves from promoting Mary as co-redemptrix. Will the new Pope Leo follow in Leo XIII’s footsteps?
• As a social justice advocate, the new pope adds a modern concern for “developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labor.” (Dear Pope Leo, that’s not the only threat of A.I.—replacing God would be another.)
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The wall surrounding the Vatican—will the new Pope tear it down or open the gates?
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• The new pope, like his predecessor Pope Francis, advocates for open borders—while ignoring the irony of the giant wall surrounding Vatican City. Will Pope Leo tear down that wall?
• Pope Leo XIV is opposed to abortion and euthanasia. Unlike Francis, while Bishop in Peru, Prevost lamented media and pop culture sympathies for practices that are at odds to the Gospel (LGBTQ). Prevost went further to oppose teaching gender ideology in schools as it is “confusing because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist.”
• Prevost, advocates for stronger Church action against climate change.
• Numerous parishioners have been dissatisfied with Prevost’s handling of abuse claims in Chicago and Peru.
• Before becoming Pope Leo XIV, Prevost had a large social media presence. He has since cancelled his personal social media accounts and on X (Twitter) now assumed @pontifex in his new elevated status.
• As @drprevost he denounced Russian moves into Ukraine as imperialist amongst other words. He has not come out on either side of the current Israel/Palestinian conflict. On X, he has never tweeted the words “Israel,” “Jews,” “Gaza” or “Palestine” according to Lahav Harkov of Jewish Insider. In one tweet on X, Prevost has expressed support for the COVID-19 vaccinations during the “pandemic.” Prevost was sympathetic to George Floyd and the resulting rioters.
• It will be interesting to see how and if the new pope handles the homosexual activities that run rampant in the Catholic church.
Said About the New Pope:
Louis Prevost is one of the Pope’s outspoken, sometimes profane and vulgar, MAGA brothers. Although Louis doesn’t believe his brother is “woke,” he says he “might have to tone down his own comments some” in light of his brother’s new role.
The Pope’s other brother, John, said as a child Robert used to “play priest.” In an interview with Good Morning America, John admitted his concern for his brother noting, “he’s got the task of trying to bring the world’s Catholics together. There are factions in the church... I think
he’s got to face those things and bring people together to talk about it, to get worldwide opinion.”
The President of Israel, Isaac Herzog congratulated Pope Leo. Herzog looks forward to “enhancing the relationship between Israel and the Holy See, strengthening the friendship between Jews and Christians...&ddquo;
Rabbi Joshua Stanton of the Jewish Federation said that the new Pope’s election fills him with both hope and anxiety, but believes the new Pope has a reputation for being an “effective manager and a pragmatist, who is a lot less outspoken than some of his predecessors.”
On the Republican side, Steve Bannon claims the new pope is “the worst pick for MAGA Catholics.” Laura Loomer complained that Leo is “anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open borders, and a total Marxist.”
As for his part, President Trump genially congratulated the new Pope on his election. He and Melania (a devout Catholic) attended the funeral of Pope Francis.
Lastly, Pope Leo said, “We have to seek together to be a missionary church. A church that builds bridges and dialogue.” As a young-ish pope, he may lead Catholics for many years to come. Will he truly try to steer the direction of the Catholic church towards God? His messages are somewhat mixed. Even if he has the best intentions, can he outmaneuver and outwit the ingrained factions? 
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