Robert Francis Prevost is our new pontiff. Labeled Pope Leo XIV, the white smoke was released two days into the conclave. And unfortunately, he’s a guy from Chicago.
To be fair, the church sees him as a man of the world and sure, I believe it. But what is important is his politics. Pope Francis was one of our more liberal pontiffs and so his replacement was a very big deal. But according to The New York Times, Pope Leo is similar to Francis on his stance to the poor and migrants (which was a point of contention with the previous Pope and the Trump administration). When asked previously about the status of the bishop, he said “the bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom.”
Even the similar things between Leo and Francis thought are not enough and, as has become our source for all things Pope related, the Pope Crave account on social media shared some information about Leo that puts him as a more centrist choice. The popular X account was created because of the film Conclave and is, according to a new post, run by a lesbian woman who says she is Catholic herself.
The account wrote “Our new Pope has spoken against ‘Western’ leniency towards LGBTQ+ individuals and against ‘gender ideology’ in Peru.” Pope Leo XIV was also reportedly accused of mishandling sexual assault investigations.
Pope Crave posted a follow up message that is a bit more hopeful about the appointment. “In more positive news: we do know that Pope Leo XIV shares Pope Francis’ views on migrants and poverty and is not altogether regressive. I pray that he opens his heart and mind to LGBTQ+ people around the world, seeks a pastoralist approach in all things, and works to prevent abuse. Also we hope for his support for Palestine.”
So there are good things about his appointment and there are some negative things but until we see the actions that Pope Leo XIV puts forward, we’ll have more Conclave memes to prep.
(featured image: Focus Features)
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
