Pope Leo has a strong stance on important issues such as climate change and US politics
Robert Francis Prevost: From His First Day in Congregation to his First Speech to the Universal Peace Mission of the United States (NPR’s Ruth Sherlock)
Robert Francis Prevost was elected on Thursday after a two-day conclave to succeed the late Pope Francis — a progressive pontiff who was known for his commitment to social justice.
Leo studied at the Minor Seminary of the Augustinian Fathers. He obtained a degree in mathematics from the University of Pennsylvania. He received his theological education at the Catholic Theological Union.
The new pope was born in Chicago in 1955. His father is of French and Italian descent, while his mother is of Spanish descent.
When it comes to the environment and outreach to migrants, the same priorities are shared by both Francis and Leo according to The College of Cardinals Report.
The pope thanked his fellow cardinals for selecting him. He also expressed gratitude to his former diocese in Peru and spoke warmly of Pope Francis, his late predecessor, before ending his remarks with a prayer.
The Pope said that he wanted the message of peace to enter his heart, reach his family and all people. Spanish, Italian and Latin were used as the language of his address.
The United States has never had a pontiff from the United States. The 69-year-old chose the name Pope Leo XIV. The man who appeared on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica had a message of peace that he wanted to convey to everyone. From the moments before the white smoke signaled a newly elected pope to Pope Leo’s first speech, NPR’s Ruth Sherlock was there, watching it all unfold.
Up First Newsletter: Pope Leo XIV and his Views. U.S.-China Trade Negotiations in Switzerland Meets Prime Minister Donald Trump
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This weekend, trade negotiators from the U.S. and China will meet in Switzerland for their first high-level face-to-face talks since President Trump returned to the White House. Goods from China currently face a tax of up to 245%. There are some older tariffs on top of Trump’s 145%. American goods going to China currently face a tariff of around 125%. British Prime Minister and Trump reached a deal to remove some tariffs on goods from Britain.
GOP leaders in swing districts insist they will not support any proposal that strips Medicaid benefits. The division has become a problem for Trump’s bill. Medicaid is the federal health care program for poor, elderly and disabled Americans and it is one of the clearest ways that conservatives can achieve deep spending cuts. To get the bill passed in Congress, Republicans must find over one trillion dollars in cuts to counterbalance the cost of the president’s tax cuts.
Source: Details on Pope Leo XIV and his views. And, U.S. and China trade negotiations begin
Oil price declines in the U.S. economy during the first half of the Cold War: Comments on Leo’s social media posts
Gas prices have decreased significantly, primarily due to a nearly 25% drop in crude oil prices since the beginning of the year. West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark for crude oil, fell from a high of around $80 per barrel in mid-January to just under $60 this week. On average, producers find it unprofitable to drill new wells when prices are low. There is a breakdown of how oil prices are impacting the economy.
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Reverend William Lego, who leads the Saint Turibius Parish in Chicago and has known the new pope most of his life, said that as with any political leader, Leo and Trump will have an “interesting relationship.”
Online sleuths found old comments on his feed about the first Trump administration, including its family separation policy and efforts to repeal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
The new pope was denounced by some right-wing figures in the media as soon as his social media posts came to light, with one calling him “WOKE MARXIST POPE.” Trump himself congratulated Leo on Thursday.
There are also messages that Leo has shared, such as supporting vaccination and praying for George Floyd, who was killed in the line of duty.
In February, he posted links to two op-eds disagreeing with Vice President Vance’s February comments on the Christian hierarchy of love, which were widely criticized, including by Pope Francis. One of Leo’s tweets repeated the headline: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”
He quoted a bishop who asked, “Is your conscience not disturbed”, after he criticized the Trump administration’s partnership to deport immigrants without legal status. How can you stay quiet?”
Pope Francis and the Latin American Refugees in Latin America: A critical assessment of the Trump crackdown on the Venezuelan immigration crisis and his comments on the LA Times article
According to the voting records obtained by Politico,Leonard, who is from Chicago, cast his ballot in four Republican primaries and a general election over the course of five years. It’s not clear who he voted for in Illinois, as he is listed as “undeclared” and it isn’t clear who he voted for.
Many people know that Pope Francis is a descendant of immigrants, but he wanted to make sure that they were aware of his position for migrants and refugees. He publicly criticized the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration over the years, most recently calling its mass deportation plan “a major crisis” in a February letter to U.S. Catholic bishops.
One of the largest host countries for refugees fleeing the crisis in Venezuela are L.A., the UN refugee agency says.
Jesus Leon Angeles, the coordinator of a Catholic group in Chiclayo who has known the now-pope since 2018, told Reuters that he showed special concern for Venezuelan migrants in Peru.
The then-cardinal cautioned against the “harmful” effects of technological development and reaffirmed the Vatican’s commitments to protecting the environment, pointing to Pope Francis’ installation of solar panels and shift to electric vehicles as examples.
The views of the Pope on a range of issues, from climate change to the gay community, are not clear, but they are listed in a chronological order.
“To talk about matters of identity and sexual orientation with a child who hasn’t yet reached a sufficient age of development will create much confusion,” he added.
Promoting gender ideology is not clear because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist. So God created man and woman, and the attempt to confuse ideas from nature will only harm families and people,” he told the Peruvian newspaper Diario Correo.
Pope Leo XIV: God’s mercy, mercy, compassion, mercy… but not so cruel for a woman’s conscience
While Francis was known for his efforts to make the church more open to members of the LGBTQ community — famously asking, “Who am I to judge?” — Leo may not follow in his footsteps.
“I think there will be a continuing recognition of the fact that women can add a great deal to the life of the Church on many different levels,” Leo added.
He said that Francis’ efforts to increase women’s participation in the Vatican included appointing several women to prominent leadership roles. Francis tasked the current-pope with adding three women to the office that vets bishop nominations in 2022, one of his most revolutionary reforms.
“Something that needs to be said also is that ordaining women — and there’s been some women that have said this interestingly enough — ‘clericalizing women’ doesn’t necessarily solve a problem, it might make a new problem,” he said.
Like his predecessor, he doesn’t like ordaining female deacons. He told journalists that it was in keeping with thousands of years of understanding of the Catholic religion.
“The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom, but rather called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them, and to look for ways that he can better live the Gospel message in the midst of his people,” the then-cardinal told Vatican News in 2024.
The Augustinian friar was the first to lead the church. The Order of Saint Augustine is a group with some 2,800 members in 47 countries. Their core values are truth, unity and love.
“And so, Leo XIV has been formed on those foundational values,” the Rev. Robert Hagan, prior provincial of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova told NPR. Francis spoke a lot to listen to. I think Pope Leo XIV is someone who is also willing to listen to the voices on the margins.”
Robert Prevost advocated for helping the poor and migrants. He has said that protecting the environment is important. He’s called for racial justice and recently criticized the views of Vice President Vance, a Catholic, on the church.
Leo’s election is “not a political statement” by the College of Cardinals, “but it contains a political message,” Massimo Faggioli, a papal expert and professor of theology and religious studies at Villanova University, told Morning Edition.
Leo Lego and the Trump Effect on the U.S. and the “Impact of a Pope on the World Order”
Even as many have been forced out of their homes due to violence and climate change, Trump has characterized the arrival of migrants at the U.S. border as an “invasion”. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has shaken the world order, alienating long time allies and seemingly cozying up to autocratic leaders like Russian President Putin and Hungary’s Viktor Orban.
Though the election of a U.S. pope seemed impossible to close watchers of the church, the “Trump effect” on America and the international global order, Faggioli said, is one of the things that “made the impossible possible.”
Lego has known Leo since the two were in sixth grade. They attended seminary and high school together. He said that Leo was always “centered on helping people. He was always willing to do things.
“If the church is open to the spirit, the spirit will look for at the time probably the best or candidate to lead the church. And our role as Catholics throughout the world is once that expression of the spirit becomes public … our next journey is we begin to work together and continue to discover how the spirit is alive in the world,” Lego said.
He continued, saying “now with an American pope maybe that position, from his point of view of power, could be used for a benefit of all. There is always at least one side to a coin.