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.
Thank you for this information. I immediately thought of Pope Leo X, who battled with Martin Luther and was a member of the criminal Medici family. That would not have been very encouraging.
You're welcome Kay, and thank you. While I don't remember that (despite being a history major a lifetime ago), I'll have to research it. And, you're right, it would have been awful. Dealing with Trump is challenging enough!
This was a very quick Conclave. It is fascinating to see how Pope Francis understood the assignment and put in place the pieces and the people to continue to move the Institution of the Vatican forward -- and to do what he could to ensure his social justice Catholicism would continue after his death. A fascinating choice, and hopefully a good sign at a time when we need voices of compassion more than ever.
Won't be long now before donnie/jd both LIE and take credit for an American named pope! Donnie will say "since it can't be me, they elected an american who LOVES me!" He'll find some way to take credit for this new pope! Can we trade? Have Prevost be prez, while donnie does the pope for ratings???
I try not to be too hopeful about anything that the Holy Mother Church decides to do, but the selection of Leo as a regnal name might signal something that's not too bad. The last Leo issued a ground-breaking encyclical, Rerum Novarum, which essentially said that you can't be a good Catholic if you exploit people to make money.
I was surprised that the Catholic Church was not immediately subducted into reactionary politics with nary a ripple. How strange, and maybe positive.
The Church, like the U.S., is a powerful force for....whatever it's doing at the moment. Like the U.S., it is big enough to be a powerful force for good, sometimes even more so than otherwise. I won't turn down any allies for the cause of civilization at this point.
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.
Thank you for this information. I immediately thought of Pope Leo X, who battled with Martin Luther and was a member of the criminal Medici family. That would not have been very encouraging.
You're welcome Kay, and thank you. While I don't remember that (despite being a history major a lifetime ago), I'll have to research it. And, you're right, it would have been awful. Dealing with Trump is challenging enough!
At this point Pope Leo is upstaging Donald Trump.
This was a very quick Conclave. It is fascinating to see how Pope Francis understood the assignment and put in place the pieces and the people to continue to move the Institution of the Vatican forward -- and to do what he could to ensure his social justice Catholicism would continue after his death. A fascinating choice, and hopefully a good sign at a time when we need voices of compassion more than ever.
Won't be long now before donnie/jd both LIE and take credit for an American named pope! Donnie will say "since it can't be me, they elected an american who LOVES me!" He'll find some way to take credit for this new pope! Can we trade? Have Prevost be prez, while donnie does the pope for ratings???
I try not to be too hopeful about anything that the Holy Mother Church decides to do, but the selection of Leo as a regnal name might signal something that's not too bad. The last Leo issued a ground-breaking encyclical, Rerum Novarum, which essentially said that you can't be a good Catholic if you exploit people to make money.
I was surprised that the Catholic Church was not immediately subducted into reactionary politics with nary a ripple. How strange, and maybe positive.
The Church, like the U.S., is a powerful force for....whatever it's doing at the moment. Like the U.S., it is big enough to be a powerful force for good, sometimes even more so than otherwise. I won't turn down any allies for the cause of civilization at this point.