First American pope brings social justice mission to torn world
Pope Leo XIV celebrates his first mass as pontiff Friday after his historic appointment as the first American to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics.
His elevation puts another US voice on the world stage, but the new pope’s relationship with his home country may not be simple. His past pronouncements as a cardinal and initial signals as pope are that some of his views put him at odds with the actions of Donald Trump and his administration.
When Leo XIV spoke to crowds from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, his first message was against all forms of division and war.
“Build bridges, with dialogue, through encounters, uniting everyone to be a single people, always at peace,” he said. “Evil will not prevail.”
That was a warning shot from a man chosen to represent Catholics at a time when culture wars are raging, conflicts across continents are unresolved and it’s unclear what role the papacy can play in any of it. There are also internal divisions facing the pope. The church he now leads is facing its own internal strife between traditionalists and more progressive members, particularly on issues like LGBTQ+ and divorce.
Social justice
In his choice of name, Cardinal Robert Prevost has indicated that he wants to put social justice at the heart of his papacy. The last Leo – who led for 25 years until 1903 – is best known for an encyclical that called for help for the “misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class.”
By recalling Leo XIII, the new pope is signaling a need for new solutions to the social and economic crises plaguing the world, and which have led to greater anger about inequality and unfairness, a backlash against immigrants and deep political divisions.
While Leo XIV is modern in one way — he used social media as a cardinal — he’s more reserved and conservative on some matters than his predecessor Pope Francis, who was known for his friendly and iconoclastic approach. That means there are big questions about the future direction of his papacy.
Born in Chicago, Leo XIV is a man of many guises. He is a citizen of Peru and served there for 20 years, but has deep American roots.
That gives him a possibly unique influence in Washington, but also sets the stage for some serious potential ideological clashes.
Leo XIV has been critical of how the Trump administration has dealt with immigrants. Earlier this year, when he was still a cardinal, he posted on X that “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” He was pushing back on Vance’s interpretation of the so called “Ordo Amoris,” a medieval idea that love should follow a kind of moral hierarchy.
Yesterday, Vance congratulated the pontiff on his appointment and said he’d pray for his success.
Climate change could be another tension point. Trump has once again pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement and slashed funding for EV charging infrastructure. Meanwhile, Pope Leo has doubled down on the Pope Francis’ call to listening to “the cry of creation.”
Leo XIV was appointed a cardinal by Pope Francis, who was the first Latin American pontiff and had inherited the papacy from a traditionalist, Benedict XVI, who abdicated. Both were old men, co-existing for years in a new world redefined by technology and where conservatism was staging a comeback.
With his role in the making of Prevost, Francis has seen off the push to align Catholicism with the current far-right zeitgeist. He’s also brought in a figure who is both intellectually prepared — quoting St. Augustine no less — and who critically has age on his side and a certain charisma.
“I’m sure he will put his own flavor, his own mark, but I also feel confident that he will continue to build on the honorable Francis,” Sister Barbara Reid, president of the Catholic Theological Union, said at a press conference.
Pope’s adopted Peru is much more catholic than his native US
Catholics’ share of the population
Trump, who had a bit of fun with an AI image of himself as pope, welcomed Leo’s nomination as a great honor.
According to the Pew Research Center, a think tank, around 20% of US adults identify as Catholic, down from 24% in 2007.
Scandals — in particular sexual-abuse cases that have stained the church worldwide — have been a factor in people leaving, according to surveys by the organisation. A rising share of US Catholics are Hispanic, a slice of the population that has swung in favor of Trump.
The new pontiff is not just a theologian with a doctorate from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. He also holds a degree in mathematics from the Augustinian-run Villanova University in Pennsylvania.
That may contribute to his practical side which likely won’t stop at unifying the church but seeks to have a hand in worldly matters.
Pope Leo XIV’s first speech asked for peace to the world — a fairly standard request but one that shows that the Vatican intends to not dial down its criticism of world leaders. This is not a man who wants to withdraw into academia.
The perception is that he will continue in the footsteps of Francis.
Yet, the choice of an American pope may also indicate a concern from the cardinals about the divisions within the US and Trump’s tensions with allies across the globe on matters ranging from tariffs to defense.
His having a foot in the US and one in the developing world also may have further ramifications. The US church is known for its fundraising skills, and having an American pope may bring in money to allow the new pope to do more for church causes across the globe.
Among these are migration — a hot button issue — along with climate change. As a former missionary to Peru, Prevost is sensitized to both.
He remains — for now — known as a reserved man from two cultures who has been tasked with something of a mission impossible: reconciling very different worlds.
As a candidate who was not at the top of any of the bookmakers’ lists for pope, there is only upside. Father Thomas Reese, a Catholic scholar, put it: “The Holy Spirit continues to surprise us.”
Also read: Pope Leo XIV elected as first American pope
Featured photo source: Alberto Pizzoli
Source: Alessandra Migliaccio – Bloomberg
