Prevost was born in America – making him the first pope from a nation that has been historically shunned from the papacy for fear of adding power to a global hegemon. So why the switch? American hegemony isn’t exactly going away (yet).
It might have something to do with tweets from an account under the name of the new pontiff that have been critical of the Trump administration, particularly on immigration and JD Vance’s peculiar interpretation of Catholic doctrine.
Delving deeper into the account gives a decent idea of his position on abortion, which is a big no, surprise surprise. The twitter trail goes cold there unfortunately, but in his first few days, there have been some helpful clarifications from the new pontiff.
He stands fairly progressive on some issues though, particularly the role of women in the church. He is also a staunch environmentalist, in keeping with Catholic teaching on stewardship.
...making him the first pope from a nation that has been historically shunned from the papacy for fear of adding power to a global hegemon...
However, his Wikipedia page puts his stance on the LGBTQ as… somewhat unsupportive. He takes issue with the promotion of ‘gender ideology’ in Peruvian schools and promotion of the ‘homosexual lifestyle’ from western media. The BBC describe him as less supportive than Francis on LGBTQ rights, but ever since he has taken papal office, there have been signs of this view starting to shift.
I say this because of his opening speech from the balcony of the Vatican – a speech that was littered with the language of unity and inclusivity – with emphasis on togetherness, and a specific nod to the church being open to receive all people.
Another interesting indicator of Prevost’s positions is his chosen papal name, Leo XIV. Pope Francis chose his name as a nod to St. Francis of Assisi’s concern for the poor – which became a major feature of his time as pope. The first pope Leo was instrumental in securing peace for Rome with Atilla the Hun, which, given the repeated references to peace throughout Prevost’s opening speech, would likely indicate that peace is one of his main goals as pontiff.
Pope Leo comes to the fore at a time of severe geopolitical tensions. Historically, the pope has major political power; Pope John Paul II was instrumental in the resisting of Soviet authority in Poland – a major turning point in the Cold War. I think this is an incredibly tactical pick from the Catholic Church, particularly given Prevost’s American nationality – which could prove useful in dealing with the ever more fascistic Trump administration.
Internally too, he seems to be a solid pick: a centrist (relative to Catholicism) who looks to be continuing Francis’ fairly liberal line, but not with sweeping reforms. It looks to be enough to keep the ever-quarrelling factions of Catholicism happy, but can he do the same on an international level?
Only time will tell.