Our American Pope
Political polarization comes for the Roman pontiff.
The debate began immediately upon the announcement that the 267th pope of the Catholic Church was to be an American: What kind of American?
The every word of Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago, Illinois in 1955, was scrutinized and examined following the conclusion of Thursday’s papal conclave. To most, especially those outside the Catholic faith, Prevost, who took the name Pope Leo XIV, is a relatively unknown figure who barely registered on prediction markets in the lead-up to white smoke billowing from the Sistine Chapel.
So, for some, it was quite thrilling to see that the new pope had participated in at least two Republican primaries when not living abroad. The conservative commentator Charlie Kirk quickly claimed the new pope as a “strong Republican.” But was that true? For as quickly as Leo XIV’s voting record had been uncovered, so too had the American pope’s X account been mined, and it wasn’t looking great for the MAGA faithful.
In a post to his X account this February, Prevost shared an article titled “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.” It was one of only a few posts shared by Prevost this year after his account went dark for all of 2024. The others included criticism of President Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance’s immigration policy. The pope’s most recent share took sharp aim at Trump and El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele for laughing during an April press conference where the detention and deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia was discussed.
“Trump voter who bashes his immigration policy?” pondered one poster underneath Kirk’s tweet. The bit about Prevost being a “Trump voter” appears to be wishful thinking, however. In a post to Twitter on July 31, 2015, Prevost shared a Washington Post article titled “Cardinal Dolan: Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic.” And a more detailed look at the voting record of Prevost finds that, although he has voted in Republican primaries, those votes were cast in the years of 2012, 2014, and 2016. And although he did vote in the 2016 GOP primary, he did not cast a ballot in the general election in 2016 or 2020 leading to wild speculation on twitter Thursday that Prevost may have been a Kasich supporter turned Never Trumper.
Within an hour of his tweet following the announcement of Pope Leo XIV, Kirk had walked back his suggestion that Prevost was a strong Republican. “The counter argument is he’s tweeted criticisms of JD Vance, of Trump’s immigration policies, and climate change,” noted Kirk. And Kirk is right. Based on his posts and shares on Twitter, our American pope has left little doubt about his views. Pope Leo XIV supports gun control, agrees with Pope Francis’ beliefs about environmental justice, and called on the church to “reject racism and seek justice” during the societal breakdown that occurred in the months after George Floyd died underneath a Minneapolis police officer’s right knee.
On Friday morning, John Prevost spoke clearly of his brother’s thoughts on the topic of immigration: “I think [Pope Leo XIV] sees the United States heading in the wrong direction in terms of immigration — that this is a total injustice.”
In a newly surfaced video from August 2024, then-Cardinal Prevost discussed the broader issue of illegal immigration into the West. “All these immigrants continue to come,” said Prevost. “It’s a huge problem, and it’s a problem worldwide, not only in this country. There’s got to be a way both to solve the problem, but also to treat people with respect.” Given Prevost’s statements and tweets it is clear that he is speaking from a spiritual standpoint, and that the high politicization of the immigration theater at the American southern border has not sat well with him.
On the topic of abortion, Prevost has made his views clear and unambiguous. “We cannot build a just society if we discard the weakest,” Pevost previously stated. “Whether the child in the womb or the elderly in their frailty—for they are both gifts from God.” When Prevost was a student at Villanova in the 1970s, he co-founded “Villanovans for Life,” the oldest college pro-life club in the United States.
In an era defined by the politicization of every fabric of the American experience, the idea that Prevost, or any American for that matter, could rise above commenting on and participating in the nadirs of our shared experience seems unimaginable. What’s worse however, is that the immediate reaction of many Americans was not to celebrate his announcement with joy but to use it as a political football in their own blighted and chaotic arena. Thankfully, there are still millions of Americans, who despite voting every four years for president, and despite becoming tangentially involved in a political spat on Facebook every once in a while, still derive pleasure and meaning from a connected consciousness that supersedes our divisions.
In posts across Twitter following Pope Leo XIV’s announcement, Americans reveled at the new pontiff being a native Chicagoan. Viral memes included Pope Leo XIV emerging to the pre-game music of the Chicago Bulls and an edit of Chicago-resident Chief Keef rapping as Pope Leo XIV waved to adoring supporters in the Vatican. Other posts highlighted great moments in our nation’s sporting and military history as Journey’s music blasted in the background, cheering on the election of an American pope as only Americans can.
The Chicago Cubs got in on the action too, sharing an image of the sign at Wrigley Field displaying the text “He’s a Cubs Fan!” That claim, however, was quickly fact-checked by Prevost’s brother, who clarified that the new pope is a lifelong White Sox fan. To further verify his White Sox fandom, the Chicago-Sun Times unearthed a photo of a beaming Prevost in attendance at the 2005 World Series.
Our American pope. Born to a Second World War veteran and a librarian in our Chicago. “Da Pope” screamed the Chicago-Sun Times, a nod to the famous SNL sketch poking fun at Chicago Bears’ fans. Fluent in five languages, Prevost performed his great works in the poor, downtrodden streets of Peru, later being nicknamed the “Bishop-maker” after he was selected as Dicastery for Bishops by Pope Francis in 2023. Perhaps an ally of the traditional Latin Mass who holds more reverence for papal dress than his predecessor.
In his first words as leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Leo XIV kept it simple: “Peace be with you all!” Here’s hoping that we can all, in our time of great division, heed the words of the new pope and find some peace within ourselves, our families, our communities, our nation, and our world. The era of the American pope has begun.
The post Our American Pope appeared first on The American Conservative.
