Cerebral he may be, but Pope Leo XIV is showing no signs of caution in the first months of his papacy. He has taught compassion for refugees and taken to task the cruelty of the Trump Administration’s immigration enforcement.
Pope Leo appears aligned with such prelates as Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich, and at odds with leadership of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which can be characterized as the MAGA movement at prayer. Leo’s stance is significant, in that he is the first U.S. born leader of the world’s Catholics, a Chicago native, White Sox fan who has voted in American elections.
Leo has also taken up themes, such as excesses of the rich in a new Gilded Age, preached by predecessor Pope Francis. He is taking a much broader perspective than the USCCB, which has singled out opposition to abortion as the Church’s preeminent issue.
The progressive voices of Catholicism have taken heart at words from Dilexi Te, Leo’s first teaching document: “In a world where the poor are increasingly numerous, we paradoxically see the growth of a wealthy elite, living in a bubble of comfort and luxury, almost in another world compared to ordinary people.” The Holy Father goes on to describe poverty as “the burning heart of the Church’s mission.”
Examples are not hard to find. Jeff Bezos’ lavish wedding in Venice comes to mind, as do the yachts owned by Bezos and Paul Allen. Consider also the pricey annual conference of conservative Catholics staged by the Napa Institute at a winery and posh resort north of San Francisco.
President Trump had harsh words for Pope Francis, while Vice President J.D. Vance, a Catholic convert, has cast immigrants as the front and center of crime in America. The Pope is not to be be deterred, witness Leo’s words: “Religion cannot be limited to the private sphere, as if believers had no business making their voice heard with regard to problems affecting civil society and issues of concern to its members.”
An initial practical application of Leo’s teaching has come in his native Chicago. The archdiocese was prepared to give a lifetime achievement award to Sen. Richard Durbin, a Catholic who supports abortion rights. The pending award brought a storm of criticism from the Catholic right.
Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill., who has denied Durbin communion in his diocese, penned an article for the journal First Things entitled: “Sen. Durbin is unfit to receive any Catholic honor.” Paprocki pronounced himself “shocked” at not being consulted, while Bishop James Conley of Lincoln, Nebraska, also pronounced himself “shocked.” Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco denounced Sen. Durbin as advocating “a great evil.”
Pope Leo has come down on the side of Chicago’s archbishop. Leo also has used the controversy to broaden what the Church means by being “pro-life.” He spoke critically that someone claiming to be “pro-life” and also enabling the death penalty “is not really pro-life.” He added that those turning away immigrants are not affirming life and should learn a lesson: “The kingdom of God begins among the most vulnerable.”
It’s a pointed putdown of ex-Attorney General William Barr, a conservative Catholic who presided over reimposition of the federal death penalty. And of Vance, who has championed apprehension of “illegals” by masked ICE agents even on grounds of Catholic parishes in California’s Riverside County. In driving home his point, Pope Leo made explicit reference to “the inhumane treatment of immigrants in the United States.”
The Pope has brought to his ministry lessons learned as a diocesan bishop in Peru, and as global supervisor of the Augustinian order. He is also carrying forward the exhortations of Pope Francis, particularly on global warming. Speaking from the papal summer retreat at Castel Grandolfo outside Rome, Leo declared: “God will ask us if we have cultivated and cared for the world that He created for the benefit of all and for future generations.”
The new pope is a man of strong words. He speaks of “environmental devastation,” and that we should “ask God for the ability to care for Creation.” He has singled out “critics who ridicule those who speak of global warming.” He has condemned the killing fields of Ukraine and Gaza.
Pope Francis laid the groundwork by globalizing the College of Cardinals and naming more than half the men who voted for his successor. Of course, Pope Leo will be politically tested on whether he can move the Vatican bureaucracy to practice a more pastoral ministry. He must also carry forward the empowerment of synods as speaking for the Church beyond the confines of Vatican City.
He’s off to a promising start. Retirements of reactionaries will allow him to remake the American hierarchy. As a start, there has been the naming of progressive Cardinal Robert McElroy of San Diego, a champion of immigrant rights, as Archbishop of Washington, D.C. Pope Leo has a Gospel to preach and is a welcome, much-needed antidote to Christian nationalism.
This story also appears in Cascadia Advocate.
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