At first I was worried that if the cardinals chose Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, to be the first American Pope, Trump would lay claim to him. But, when I read that some cardinals believed he could counter Trump, it made sense they would pick Prevost, because of his broad background.
When Prevost came to Peru, he worked as a missionary parish priest for ten years and his parish was composed of working-class people, migrants, and refugees from Venezuela. It was a poor and vulnerable community, which he loved and fought for. Later, he traveled throughout the world to lead his international religious community, the Order of St. Augustine. He was a bishop in Peru, before Pope Francis recalled him to the Vatican in 2023, made him an archbishop and a few months later a cardinal, who was charged with recruiting and supervising bishops around the globe. Prevost seems like the perfect choice for pope because he shares Pope Francis concerns about Trump's "isolationism and disregard for multinationalism, as well his anger about mass deportations, and his contempt for the poor.
Like Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV believes in “a better kind of politics: that prioritizes concern for the common good over a country’s borders.” The two popes also put their faith in "building bridges to peace and justice and welcoming everyone in dialogue and love."
Hopefully, Pope Leo’s words, “God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail,” will not only set the tone for his papacy, but it will put Trump on notice that his brand of evil is not only intolerable to us, but to Pope Leo, who treats people with kindness, respect, and love, rather than cruelty, disdain, and loathing. At this point in time, it will take a special pope to humanize a president, who has no empathy or compassion, spineless Congressional Republicans who have no moral fiber, and extreme and hostile MAGAs, who believe Trump's lies, and share his resentments.
At first I was worried that if the cardinals chose Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, to be the first American Pope, Trump would lay claim to him. But, when I read that some cardinals believed he could counter Trump, it made sense they would pick Prevost, because of his broad background.
When Prevost came to Peru, he worked as a missionary parish priest for ten years and his parish was composed of working-class people, migrants, and refugees from Venezuela. It was a poor and vulnerable community, which he loved and fought for. Later, he traveled throughout the world to lead his international religious community, the Order of St. Augustine. He was a bishop in Peru, before Pope Francis recalled him to the Vatican in 2023, made him an archbishop and a few months later a cardinal, who was charged with recruiting and supervising bishops around the globe. Prevost seems like the perfect choice for pope because he shares Pope Francis concerns about Trump's "isolationism and disregard for multinationalism, as well his anger about mass deportations, and his contempt for the poor.
Like Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV believes in “a better kind of politics: that prioritizes concern for the common good over a country’s borders.” The two popes also put their faith in "building bridges to peace and justice and welcoming everyone in dialogue and love."
Hopefully, Pope Leo’s words, “God loves us, all of us, evil will not prevail,” will not only set the tone for his papacy, but it will put Trump on notice that his brand of evil is not only intolerable to us, but to Pope Leo, who treats people with kindness, respect, and love, rather than cruelty, disdain, and loathing. At this point in time, it will take a special pope to humanize a president, who has no empathy or compassion, spineless Congressional Republicans who have no moral fiber, and extreme and hostile MAGAs, who believe Trump's lies, and share his resentments.
At this point Pope Leo is upstaging Donald Trump.