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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While an atheist, I believe that both Pope Francis and Pope Leo are about the poor, the indigent, the immigrant, regardless of their beliefs. Both, I see as good men who have managed to rise to places of authority in the Catholic church and are driven to the greater good. Long may they resist those who cling to the past as if living in the past will prevent the future. More loving and understanding are an excellent basis to build upon. My best wishes to greater understanding and positive steps to help those in need. Everyone knows, there is plenty of poor and helpless in this world, some of which have gained great wealth and often misuse that wealth rather than putting it to use helping those who need it most. Charity is important; charity is good and this world could use a lot more of Charity.
Pope Leo is indeed off to good start. His agenda is substantively similar to that of his predecessor, but he seems content to pursue it in a more moderate style. In an age of breathless culture wars, style can easily become a trigger for meaningless conflict. The new pope is wise to avoid offering a provocative image of militancy.
And being a son of Chicago he is well equipped to understand the vortex of fear and lunacy that our beloved United States of America has become. We are now, hands down, the most erratic and dangerous force on the face of the planet. We have become of capable of wild swings of irrational behavior, with various unhappy elements of a declining Christianity in the forefront of fomenting the chaos. Pope Leo is thus favorably positioned to exercise a much needed calming influence on a large and potentially turbulent segment of American society. Even atheists should pray for his success.
ICE is not seekng out illegals who have parking tickets. They are after some of the most dangerous people within America. Trump is guilty of using too much of a hand but Biden had no legal authorization to allow over ten million people into the U.S. Democrats speak of Democracy but I don’t remember voting to open the border to millions of people. I sure wish there was some balance on this site but it seems to be a Democrat echo chamber.
Joel Connelly gives a succinct summation of Pope Leo’s leadership thus far. Leo is demonstrating his conviction to follow in the path of his predecessor Francis. The human family, as diverse and disparate as it is, is caught in the malicious web of rampant militarism and the pernicious effects of environmental exploitation. Billions are impoverished and suffer under one form of arrogant autocracy or another. This reckless trajectory is not sustainable and places a socially salubrious and ecologically vibrant global future in jeopardy. Every conscientious person here and throughout the world has a duty to work for a genuine peace and a socially and politically just human and environmental order. Leo is proving to be a much needed and humane voice of sanity and compassion in an increasingly vicious and destabilized world. May his words be taken to heart by many here in the United States and elsewhere.