New Pope Leo XIV delivers message of peace

From his first moments on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV gave important clues about what kind of leader he would be for the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church.

The US “Cardinal Robert Prevost,” as he was known before becoming Pope Leo XIV, was elected as the new pope by the world’s cardinals on Thursday, the second day of the conclave held to elect the successor to Pope Francis, who passed away last month.

Leo, who made history as the first US pope, also holds dual citizenship in Peru, where he served as a missionary for decades before becoming a cardinal.

The first clue Leo gave was the name he chose. Popes usually use this choice to give the first important signal about the priorities of their new papacy.

Francis had taken his name from St. Francis of Assisi, who in the 13th century rejected wealth and wanted to care for the poor.

The last pope to take the name Leo, Leo XIII, had focused during his papacy from 1878 to 1903 on defending the rights of workers, demanding fair wages, fair working conditions, and the right to join unions.

Jesuit commentator Thomas Reese, who closely follows the papacy, claimed, “Cardinal Prevost shows his commitment to the church’s social teaching by choosing the name Leo XIV.”

Leo’s second message was his choice of language and words, which clearly emphasized the need for peace. Francis had also often focused on this issue.

Speaking to the crowd gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the new Pope chose Italian and Spanish, and did not mention the US.

Leo’s first public words were, “La pace sia con tutti voi!” (“Peace be with all of you!”)

Before entering the secret conclave on May 7, the world’s cardinals had issued a statement condemning the conflicts in “Ukraine, the Middle East, and many other regions of the world” and making a “heartfelt call” for peace.

The new pope stated that he wanted to “share God’s peace,” describing it as “an unarmed peace and a disarming peace,” and added that he was “humble and determined.”

Leo also recounted Pope Francis, who passed away, blessing the crowd in Rome for the last time on Easter Sunday, one day before his death.

The new Pope said, “Pope Francis’s weak but always courageous voice is still in our ears.”

Leo asked for permission to give the blessing Francis had given a few weeks earlier and said, “God loves us, God loves everyone, and evil will not prevail. We are in God’s hands.”

According to Reuters, Leo’s third clue was his choice of clothing. Unlike Francis, who rejected all symbols of the papacy, including on his first day after being elected in 2013, Leo wore the traditional red papal cape over his white cassock.

Thus, although Leo followed Francis’s tradition, he showed that he was “a new and different pope.”

On the other hand, although the new pope is US, there is no sign yet that relations between the Donald Trump administration and the Vatican will be much better.

Furthermore, a social media account opened in the new pope’s name appears to have repeatedly criticized the Trump administration, especially Vice President JD Vance, in the months and years before he began his papal duties.

A series of posts published under the “Robert Prevost” account show that the Chicago-born Cardinal shared an article criticizing Vance’s interpretation of faith and the strict immigration policies he advocated along with President Donald Trump.

In mid-April, the same account reposted someone else’s criticism of Trump’s meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele in the Oval Office and pointed to an op-ed by Washington, D.C. Auxiliary Catholic Bishop Evelio Menjivar, which drew attention to the suffering of migrants deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration.

The op-ed reposted by Prevost asks, “Don’t you see the suffering? Doesn’t your conscience bother you?”

As a more striking example, in February, this account shared an op-ed published in the liberal-leaning Catholic newspaper National Catholic Reporter, titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others”.

Catholics are the largest Christian denomination in the US, and Trump heavily sought Catholic votes in key states to win the 2024 presidential election.

Trump appointed several Catholics, as well as Vance, to high cabinet positions. Pope Francis, who died on April 21, had regularly criticized the Trump administration and had once sharply rebuked Vance for his interpretation of the church’s teaching on love.

Like his predecessor, Leo also comes from a “more progressive and inclusive” wing of Catholicism, but still seems to defend traditional Catholic views on issues like LGBT rights.

The President on Thursday immediately congratulated Leo, who spent most of his adult life in Peru, on his election and promised to meet with the new pope soon.

Trump wrote on Truth Social, “It is a great honor to realize that he is the first American pope. How exciting and what a great honor for our country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”