An American Pope who sympathises with the poor

The election of Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new head of the 1.4 billion-strong Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday was swift and smooth. The conclave of cardinals deliberated for two days before they chose Prevost, who had worked in Peru for many years as the successor to Pope Francis who had passed away in April at the age of 88.

Cardinal Prevost has chosen to be called Leo XIV. He belongs to the Order of St. Augustine even as his predecessor Francis belonged to the Society of Jesus, also known as Jesuits. The question on everyone’s mind was who will succeed Pope Francis who had brought in extraordinary qualities of moral leadership, and reached out to people across faiths. It is too early to say what will be the worldview of Pope Leo XIV.

The initial curiosity about him will be about him being an American. The question is certain to crop up as to what kind of an American he is, and whether his American roots will shape his papacy. There are clean signs that he is an American who identifies himself with the poor. Though born in a wealthy country, he had spent his time in one of the poorest countries in South America, Peru. Cardinal Prevost is known to be a critic of American President Donald Trump. That in itself reveals a lot about the new Pope. In a surprise, President Trump greeted the new Pope and underlined the fact that he (the Pope) was an American.

Apart from the fact that he is drawn to the poor, there is not much known about Pope Leo XIV’s views on controversial issues facing the Roman Catholic Church. There is the issue of abuse of the young by Catholic priests in many parts of the world which poses a big challenge. Not many were happy with the response of Pope Francis. Similarly, it is not known what his views are on the issue of Catholic priests getting married, about women priests, and about gay priests. It would appear that he would lean towards conservatism, and he would not take bold steps that could prove to be risky for the stability of the Roman Catholic Church.

But with his social and political stance on poverty and equality, which seems to be inspired by Leo XIII (1878-1903), who criticised both capitalism and socialism, and suggested a Christian middle-path of justice and harmony, he could be seen as a promising leftist Pope. What stands out about Leo XIV is the fact that he does not enjoy being in the limelight, that he would pursue his programmes in a quiet manner, and lead the church in a balanced manner.

Perhaps it is his quietness that led the other cardinals to choose him as the Pope. The church wants to shun controversies and remain a stable centre of millions of the faithful around the world, and Leo XIV seems to be the man to provide the stability and quietness.

The new Pope has also emphasised in his first address as the head of the Vatican that he wants people to return to the church, and true to the principles of his Order of St. Augustine, he feels that individual Christians would be incomplete unless they are part of the church as a community.

It is the emphasis on the communitarian aspect of religious life that could mark out the papacy of Leo XIV. But the new Pope would be compelled to take note of the internal decay that has crept into parts of the church edifice and he would need to clean it up. But it looks like that he would do it in his own quiet manner and will take his own time to do it.