On first glance, he seems Francis-esque (pro-migrant, anti-female clergy, etc.), and Francis had him in charge of selecting new bishops for the past two years.
He did say we should go forward, men and women, so he believes in a respected role of some kind for them, but I believe I also heard in his Italian-language address the word "tradizione" (tradition). At least the part of his speech that I heard was all about unity, about the church being open to all, about meetings, and about going forward without fear in peace, unity, and charity and for justice, but I didn't hear anything more concrete than that. It was a good, vigorous speech. We'll find out more about the directions he wants to go in as Pope soon, but I was very surprised how quickly they picked him.
I would expect Leo XIV to be a more moderate pope than either Francis or Benedict XIV.
Of course, having an American Pope is going to be extremely controversial for the Catholic Church, because of who the current President of the United States is (although Leo XIV was critical of Trump and his ilk on some issues, notably immigration, before becoming Pope), as well as because of U.S. foreign policy being controversial to varying degrees in much of the world and the fact that, in a rigid two-party system, neither of the major U.S. political parties come close to lining up with Catholic teachings.
Biden was on The View today. When Ana Navarro mentioned that last week was Trump's first 100 days back in office, she and Joe did the sign of the cross at the same time. Well timed and hilarious.
Very interesting that an American was chosen, as the entire world turns against Trump's America. One might have thought it would be fashionable to pick anyone but an American out of protest. But if you wanted to maximize your influence as Trump creates a tsunami of suffering around the planet, this might be your best bet. To be clear, I don't think an American Pope will influence Trump and MAGA any more than a Nigerian one would. But I do think an American Pope may be better positioned to criticize the Trump regime, not only to an audience of American Catholic voters but also globally, perhaps helping to preserve some of our dignity on the global stage. It's also highly possible none of this had anything to do with his selection and it was merely about maintaining the ideology of the Pope who appointed most of them.
I'm very hopeful that this will help preserve our political dominance in New England. New England Catholics have felt increasingly isolated from the larger American church, causing many of them to drift rightward politically to maintain their connection. This would have been far more pronounced with a more traditional, less-MAGA GOP and without Francis enlarging social issues beyond abortion and LGBT+. With a pope that will hopefully continue to do so and is even more demographically similar to them, I'm optimistic he'll help in NE as well in the restoration of a politically moderate church in the rest of the country.
I'm more surprised an American was chosen because it has seemed like an unwritten rule that an American shouldn't be Pope. It seemed to be for similar reasons as for why there has never been an American Secretary-General of the UN.
I don't think residents of the Security Council nations are allowed to be Secretary-General. Even if they were, recommendations come from the Council, and there's no way China or Russia would allow an American or vice-versa. Actually, America probably would allow a Russian now.
The very first Secretary-General was actually from the UK but only served in an Acting capacity until the first true Sec-Gen could be appointed.
Also, small- to middle-sized nations have generally been chosen, so it definitely seems there is an effort to avoid giving too much power to nations that already have a lot of power and influence globally (German, Japan, Italy, etc.). South Korea seems to be the largest economy to have had a Sec-Gen. States in near-perpetual conflict with other nations like Israel and India are probably not going to make it either.
Korea is a weird case. I think for most people it's an easy conflict to reduce to out of sight, out of mind.
It's a conflict that could escalate into a high intensity war, and would be an extremely terrible one were it to do so. Millions dead, lots of damage to the global economy, millions more displaced, geopolitical saber rattling between the world's two largest militaries, risks of nuclear weapon use... It could get very bad, very fast.
Despite all of that, for generations now it's been very low intensity. Makes it easy for people to brush it aside, mentally.
HeтАЩs spent most of his adult life out of the country and has Peruvian citizenship. And
The last X post from the new pope was April 14, when he shared a post about the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, with the questions, тАЬDo you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?тАЭ
All the Popes were Italian for about 450 years, until a Pole was chosen. So the sample size since then is quite small (4: Poland,Germany, Argentina, USA/Peru).
Since people here have been following it: New pope selected today. An American, which surprised me. Robert Francis Prevost (now Leo XIV).
I don't know anything about him.
He's one of Francis's heir apparents. And a vocal critic of Trump and Vance.
Not Roman Catholic, but I approve.
https://bsky.app/profile/joshtpm.bsky.social/post/3loogumjov22u
If Trump and Vance helped play a role in Prevost getting elected as the new pope, it speaks volumes about their contemptible behavior.
Seems quite significant.
From what IтАЩve read, the previous Pope stacked the deck in picking Cardinals so the conservatives werenтАЩt ever in contention for this vote.
On first glance, he seems Francis-esque (pro-migrant, anti-female clergy, etc.), and Francis had him in charge of selecting new bishops for the past two years.
He did say we should go forward, men and women, so he believes in a respected role of some kind for them, but I believe I also heard in his Italian-language address the word "tradizione" (tradition). At least the part of his speech that I heard was all about unity, about the church being open to all, about meetings, and about going forward without fear in peace, unity, and charity and for justice, but I didn't hear anything more concrete than that. It was a good, vigorous speech. We'll find out more about the directions he wants to go in as Pope soon, but I was very surprised how quickly they picked him.
Has spent more time out of the U.S., including two decades in Peru. The last Leo was a defender of workers and unions in the late 19th century.
Yeah, he may be American by birth but his associations with the RCC in the US seem fairly slim.
Two popes of the Americas in a row. Prevost seems marginally more moderate than Tagle/Zuppi, but not by much. seems a good choice
I would expect Leo XIV to be a more moderate pope than either Francis or Benedict XIV.
Of course, having an American Pope is going to be extremely controversial for the Catholic Church, because of who the current President of the United States is (although Leo XIV was critical of Trump and his ilk on some issues, notably immigration, before becoming Pope), as well as because of U.S. foreign policy being controversial to varying degrees in much of the world and the fact that, in a rigid two-party system, neither of the major U.S. political parties come close to lining up with Catholic teachings.
Joseph was, in my humble opinion, a great President and devout Catholic.
Joe Biden is a better Catholic than the sorry excuse of a Vice President right now.
JD is a Christianist. ThatтАЩs got nothing more to do with Christian than Islamist does with Muslim.
Biden was on The View today. When Ana Navarro mentioned that last week was Trump's first 100 days back in office, she and Joe did the sign of the cross at the same time. Well timed and hilarious.
silence spoke a million words!!
Yep.
And I'd have much more respect for his conversion to Catholicism if he hadn't done so with cameras rolling.
IтАЩd have a modicum of respect for his conversion to Catholicism if his тАЬleadershipтАЭ had not proved so antithetical to basic Christian tenets.
The Beastie Boys are better Catholics than JD Vance is.
fortunately, hopefully, the current potus will be gone long before Leo XIV
Since Leo is only 69 he could be around for a while
He seemed quite energetic and kind of youthful giving his speech today.
Very likely so.
Very interesting that an American was chosen, as the entire world turns against Trump's America. One might have thought it would be fashionable to pick anyone but an American out of protest. But if you wanted to maximize your influence as Trump creates a tsunami of suffering around the planet, this might be your best bet. To be clear, I don't think an American Pope will influence Trump and MAGA any more than a Nigerian one would. But I do think an American Pope may be better positioned to criticize the Trump regime, not only to an audience of American Catholic voters but also globally, perhaps helping to preserve some of our dignity on the global stage. It's also highly possible none of this had anything to do with his selection and it was merely about maintaining the ideology of the Pope who appointed most of them.
I'm very hopeful that this will help preserve our political dominance in New England. New England Catholics have felt increasingly isolated from the larger American church, causing many of them to drift rightward politically to maintain their connection. This would have been far more pronounced with a more traditional, less-MAGA GOP and without Francis enlarging social issues beyond abortion and LGBT+. With a pope that will hopefully continue to do so and is even more demographically similar to them, I'm optimistic he'll help in NE as well in the restoration of a politically moderate church in the rest of the country.
I'm more surprised an American was chosen because it has seemed like an unwritten rule that an American shouldn't be Pope. It seemed to be for similar reasons as for why there has never been an American Secretary-General of the UN.
I disagree on the analogy because the U.N. is in the U.S., and I feel like that's a major reason for that unwritten rule.
I don't think residents of the Security Council nations are allowed to be Secretary-General. Even if they were, recommendations come from the Council, and there's no way China or Russia would allow an American or vice-versa. Actually, America probably would allow a Russian now.
The very first Secretary-General was actually from the UK but only served in an Acting capacity until the first true Sec-Gen could be appointed.
Also, small- to middle-sized nations have generally been chosen, so it definitely seems there is an effort to avoid giving too much power to nations that already have a lot of power and influence globally (German, Japan, Italy, etc.). South Korea seems to be the largest economy to have had a Sec-Gen. States in near-perpetual conflict with other nations like Israel and India are probably not going to make it either.
Well, the two Koreas are at war, with only an armistice and occasional flareups.
Korea is a weird case. I think for most people it's an easy conflict to reduce to out of sight, out of mind.
It's a conflict that could escalate into a high intensity war, and would be an extremely terrible one were it to do so. Millions dead, lots of damage to the global economy, millions more displaced, geopolitical saber rattling between the world's two largest militaries, risks of nuclear weapon use... It could get very bad, very fast.
Despite all of that, for generations now it's been very low intensity. Makes it easy for people to brush it aside, mentally.
They can also meet in Geneva. It doesn't have to be the US. The US being a permanent member of the Security Council is probably the biggest reason.
That's valid.
HeтАЩs spent most of his adult life out of the country and has Peruvian citizenship. And
The last X post from the new pope was April 14, when he shared a post about the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador, with the questions, тАЬDo you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?тАЭ
https://thehill.com/policy/international/5290771-robert-prevost-pope-leo/
All the Popes were Italian for about 450 years, until a Pole was chosen. So the sample size since then is quite small (4: Poland,Germany, Argentina, USA/Peru).
Robert Francis Prevost is the second Pope from the Americas.
(I think thatтАЩs a better way of looking at this.)
Yes, I have already corrected a number of murkans who are saying Pope Leo XIV is the first American Pope. USA is important but.....
Thank you!