Analysis
Pope Leo could be progressive on some issues but conservative on others
One thing already seems clear: he will not play favorites. The Vatican agenda will not be dictated by any political faction. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, of course, but nothing more. On peace and the arms race he will show the same firmness as Francis, whose loyal ally he has been.
In the end, Donald Trump did not manage to impose “his” pope. Leo XIV – the American Robert Francis Prevost – is very different from what the U.S. president had hoped for.
Prevost certainly has a reassuring demeanor but is not inclined to compromise. He is fully able to continue the open approach pioneered by Francis, yet in a calmer style, without sudden breaks, as was the wish of the majority of the cardinal electors. In a way he recalls John XXIII, the simple bishop of Rome who nonetheless convened the Second Vatican Council, the Church’s 20th-century revolution.
Sixty-nine years old and the first pope from the United States, Prevost immediately set the world of believers at ease, including by his appearance: he restored the use of the mozzetta, the short red cape over the white cassock, an item of the papal vestments that Francis never wore. The last to don it was Pope Ratzinger, Benedict XVI.
He chose the name Leo XIV, evoking Leo XIII, author of Rerum Novarum at the turn of the 20th century, the first social encyclical, a choice that presages a papacy focused on workers and the great geopolitical challenges of our time. Like that predecessor, he is seen as progressive on some issues, such as welcoming migrants, climate change and focusing on the condition of the poor, yet more conservative on civil-rights issues.
One thing already seems clear: he will not play favorites. The Vatican agenda will not be dictated by any political faction. Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, of course, but nothing more. On peace and the arms race he will show the same firmness as Francis, whose loyal ally he has been.
Prevost is thoroughly familiar with the Roman Curia and bishops worldwide: since 2023 he has headed the Dicastery for Bishops, an appointment by Francis that effectively launched him toward the papacy. That deep knowledge of the hierarchs and the dioceses across the world will help him build the Church of the future, with his own style that is more reserved than Bergoglio’s, certainly less charismatic, yet still distinctive.
Something else he shares with his predecessor is membership in a religious order: the Augustinians, whose motto reads: “Humility kills pride.” Prevost displayed that humility, eyes shining, when he stepped onto the central loggia of St Peter’s Basilica on Thursday. Augustinian spirituality is highly focused on interiority, communion with God and service to others. One other point is clear from the outset: Prevost shows no inclination towards being at the center of attention, preferring a simple and obedient following of the Gospel.
Leo XIV was born on September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois. He took his vows as an Augustinian in 1981 and later served two consecutive terms as the order’s prior general. He spent many years as a missionary in Peru and even obtained Peruvian citizenship, marking a certain distance from his U.S. origins. His missionary activity in South America showed that key characteristic of pastorality which the general congregations that preceded the conclave stressed so much. In Peru he came to know intimately the suffering of the most disadvantaged – especially migrants heading north in search of a better life. On that front, he will be able to stand up to Trump and defend their rights.
There is, however, a lingering question mark concerning his stance on civil rights and, in particular, on the LGBT+ community. Prevost has never voiced the level of openness shown by Francis and also appears less inclined to involve women in senior Church roles.
His first speech on Thursday, in a packed St Peter’s Square, was free of any doctrinal faux pas. In prepared remarks he read out, he made an appeal for peace and an invocation of Our Lady of Pompeii on her feast day. On the issue of Communion for remarried divorcees, he has previously adopted a position as open as the one Francis set out in Amoris Laetitia.
Prevost has been tangentially involved in two clergy-abuse cases, one in Peru and one in the United States. In Chiclayo, a woman complained that she and two others had been abused by local priests. Prevost started an investigation, but did not stop the priests, who continued to celebrate Mass. In Chicago he was accused of failing to warn a Catholic school that a priest known for abusing minors lived nearby. Neither case led to a civil trial.
Further light will surely be shed on these cases in the coming weeks. Not even the bishop of Rome can be exempt from scrutiny on matters involving such crimes.
Originally published at https://ilmanifesto.it/un-cardinale-capace-di-rassicurare-senza-compromessi on 2025-05-09