Questions About the New Pope

by Father Joseph Chamblain, O.S.M. Profiles in Catholicism

Ever since the election of Pope Leo this past week, I’ve been peppered with questions about the new Pope and what his papacy will mean for the church and the world. The truthful answer, which is also the best answer, is, “I don’t know.” Our media loves to categorize people as progressive, conservative, being for this and against that; but let’s approach the papacy of Pope Leo with an open heart and an open mind and with faith that this is the person the Holy Spirit wants to shepherd the Catholic Church at this moment in history. While I did know Pope Leo XIV while he was just Bob Prevost and we were students at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago in the early 1980’s, we were not in the same class; we were not close friends; and people can change a lot and be changed a lot by life in 43 years. So, I have no inside knowledge to share. And, since the bulletin has a Monday deadline, you may have more information by the time the weekend comes.

Here is what I think is important to know. First, Pope Leo is what is called in the trade a “lifer.” That is, he entered the seminary right after eighth grade. The Augustinian Friars maintained a high school seminary in Michigan until the end of the 1970’s, and the Pope graduated from this boarding school. However, the rest of his religious formation took place in the context of a larger institution, where he attended class along with lay people, who represented other religious faiths (or no religious faith). The Augustinians have a college formation program at their own university, Villanova in Pennsylvania. Catholic Theological Union in Hyde Park began in the late 1960’s as a joint seminary program for the Franciscans, Passionists, and Servites.

Other religious congregations joined, and it also welcomed lay men and women interested in ministry. While seminarians lived with members of their own religious congregation, classes were held in an old hotel and at a synagogue down the street. This means that Pope Leo is likely to continue the goals of synodality (clergy and laity listening together), since it was part of his own religious formation.

Second, Pope Leo is clearly someone that Pope Francis trusted; which means there is likely to be a lot of continuity with the themes close to the heart of Pope Francis. After spending many years of missionary work in Peru, he was chosen by Francis to lead the Commission for Latin America. He was also appointed to the Dicastery (or Commission) that screens and selects bishops from around the world. Previously he had spent a dozen years in Rome as Superior General of the Augustinian Order. In these roles he would have had contact with many of the Cardinal electors, and he was made a Cardinal only two years earlier. If he was not Francis’ choice to succeed him, he was certainly someone Francis wanted to have a say in whom that successor would be. Going in to the conclave, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Secretary of State under Francis was considered the favorite to succeed him. And while there was undoubtedly a movement to bring the Papacy back to Italy after almost forty years of “foreign” popes, the diverse college of cardinals seemed to coalesce around Leo.

While Pope Leo represents continuity with Pope Francis, he seems to have a greater sympathy for tradition.He is also likely to be more careful in what he says publicly. Pope Francis often varied from prepared textsand talked “off the cuff,” which at times created problems for Vatican officials, since the Pope seemed to be changing church teaching on the spur of the moment. The difference was apparent as soon as Pope Leo stepped out on the balcony for the first time. He was wearing the red shoulder cape and Papal Stole over his cassock, a tradition which Pope Francis dispensed with when he stepped through the curtains. Pope Leo had taken the time to write out his remarks, which he read to the gathered crowd. He also has a degree in Canon (Church) Law from Rome. All of these factors, I think, helped him gain the support of the more conservative cardinals. Hisundergraduate degree is in mathematics, which might help him understand and address the intricacies of Vatican finances.

Another question I received concerns how the Pope influences world politics. Well, mostly through his public addresses and writings. However, Vatican City, as a sovereign state, has its own diplomatic corps. Vatican diplomats can intervene in church disputes, but can also be called upon to mediate international civil disputes. Mostly, though, the Pope serves as a moral counterweight to the more aggressive, self-serving policies of individual nations. Let’s all pray for him and wish him well.