Pope Leo XIV is the first American pope. The announcement was stunning. Cardinal Robert Prevost appeared on numerous lists of papabile, but many of us remained skeptical that we would actually see an American pope.
Yet, as Michael Sean Winters has explained, the Cardinals wanted someone who shared Pope Francis’s commitment to synodality and his focus on the poor, and “with Prevost, a mild-mannered man, they also voted for fewer surprises and a steadier hand at the wheel of governance, someone with experience of the Vatican Curia but not a creature of that Curia.”
Pope Leo XIV has a great opportunity to reinforce and deepen Pope Francis’s efforts to revitalize the Church. And all available evidence indicates that he wishes to do so—to continue the outstanding leadership that Pope Francis provided.
By acting as a powerful witness of Gospel values, leading the fight against the throwaway culture, and deepening the Church’s commitment to the principle of participation, our new pope can follow in Francis’s footsteps and continue the journey.
Although Pope Leo XIV will act in a way that reflects his unique personality and authentic self, rather than mimicking Pope Francis, he will assuredly seek to provide the profound Christian witness that was a hallmark of Pope Francis’s papacy. Pope Francis’s emphasis on joy made some people give Christianity a second look. In a time when many suffer from anxiety, loneliness, and profound sadness, joy is uniquely captivating and inviting. A focus on mercy, love, and encounter helps to illuminate the true nature of Christianity. And though his papacy has only just begun, Pope Leo has already emphasized God’s love for all people.
Francis’s humility created a deep bond between everyday people around the world and the head of the Catholic Church. It was a crucial part of his anti-clericalist agenda. Bishops, priests, and even the pope are not separate and elevated from the flock but called to be pastors with the smell of the sheep. They are meant to be workers in a field hospital for the many who are suffering in our world, for the marginalized and vulnerable. In an era when authority does not automatically flow from power or hierarchy, but instead from witness and authenticity, the pope can establish durable authority that is worthy of our trust in an often-chaotic world. Pope Leo’s emphasis on servant leadership in these early days is a strong indication that he will be this kind of shepherd.
The beginning of Leo XIV’s papacy has been notably marked by deep humility. It was clear that when he stepped out onto the Loggia, he understood the gravity of the moment and the task before him. It was an excellent start, indicating that he seeks to continue Francis’s approach to servant leadership.
The heart of Pope Francis’s papacy was his focus on ending the throwaway culture and replacing it with a culture of solidarity, inclusion, and tenderness. In describing the throwaway culture, Pope Francis explained how exploitative economic systems and practices, the destruction of the environment, the death penalty, war crimes, indifference to migrants fleeing for their lives, the killing of unborn children, and so many other injustices are rooted in the same depersonalizing tendency to treat humans as though they were disposable objects that we are free to discard at will.
Pope Francis’s ‘whole life’ approach and consistent efforts to overturn the throwaway culture, rather than focusing on a small number of culture war issues, gave him credibility and earned greater respect for the coherence and relevance of Catholic social teaching. Pope Leo seems poised to take a similar approach.
In a key 2023 address, he indicated his support not only for the consistent ethic of life, as articulated by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, but also Cardinal Blase Cupich’s ‘consistent ethic of solidarity.’ His social media history shows that he has called for the abolition of the death penalty and the protection of the environment, while indicating his support for gun control and his opposition to the anti-immigrant agenda and distorted theology of populist nationalists. By continuing to display the consistency and coherence of Catholic social teaching, our new pope can provide vital moral leadership in a world that desperately needs it.
Finally, it will be fascinating to see how Pope Leo approaches the Catholic principle of participation. He seems primed to build on the teachings of his predecessors and further spell out its implications and highlight where it is threatened in the world today, perhaps even with a new papal encyclical.
This principle includes participation in the Church. Pope Leo has already been vocal in his commitment to implementing Pope Francis’s vision of a synodal Church. Synodality is opening new doors to women, laypeople, and others who have felt marginalized. Pope Leo XIV’s repeated statements on his commitment to synodality are very clear and encouraging for those who support this type of participation.
Pope Leo also seems highly likely to pay close attention to economic participation. In some parts of the world, working conditions remain appallingly exploitative and unjust. But even in advanced economies, meritocratic ideologies are frequently used to elevate those who lack the moral character required for true leadership to positions of power. Such figures hubristically trample upon the dignity of workers and their right to participate in their workplace. New technology may accelerate this troubling behavior. How fitting it would be for another Pope Leo to make such efforts on behalf of participatory work a central part of his papacy.
In the area where Church teaching could perhaps benefit most from further articulation, Pope Leo seems very well positioned to not only reaffirm the Church’s commitment to political participation, but to deepen it and to explain what that looks like in a world where democratic backsliding is far too frequent and populist nationalism menaces the great progress made since World War II.
While others have turned to strongmen and wannabe dictators as saviors, Pope Francis praised post-war Christian Democratic leaders like Alcide De Gasperi, Robert Schuman, Jean Monnet, and Konrad Adenauer, holding them up as models for today’s political leaders. There is good reason to believe that Pope Leo will also encourage popular support for those who are committed to democracy and who champion a personalist, communitarian approach to politics. His advocacy for the poor and marginalized in Peru suggests that he has much to say about their economic and political rights.
Additionally, given his background as an American, where Catholics have long believed in the compatibility of democracy and Catholic principles, and the son of a man who fought the forces of autocracy in World War II, Pope Leo seems uniquely suited to help the Church deepen its commitment to political participation. Now is the perfect time for a new encyclical that clearly and strongly repudiates efforts to undermine democracy, basic civil liberties, and human rights. While Church teaching has certainly been developing in that direction, Pope Leo has the opportunity to make it clear that free democracy is the form of government most compatible with human dignity and participation.
By showing people around the world the joy of the Gospel, the power of mercy, and the value of humble servant leadership, while consistently fighting for the poor, oppressed, and marginalized, Pope Leo XIV can honor the legacy of Pope Francis and continue his work. By championing the principle of participation, Pope Leo XIV can take the next logical step in the development of Catholic Social Teaching and reinforce some of the great lessons of the 20th Century, deepening the Church’s commitment to human dignity and the common good.
Image: Vatican Media
Robert Christian is the editor of Millennial, an online periodical on religion, politics, and culture by millennial Catholics.
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