The Catholic Church elected its new leader on Thursday when the conclave ended with the selection of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost – the first American pope in history.
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost may come as a surprise for many, considering the church had yet to elect a pope from the United States – a prospect that seemed almost unthinkable prior to Thursday.
Prevost chose the name of Pope Leo XIV in succession with Pope Leo XIII, who most famously penned the Encyclical Rerum Novarum, which condemned socialism. As Breitbart News noted in 2019, the Encyclical came at a time when the world faced multiple questions about the nature of labor in the midst of the industrial revolution.
Moreover, it’s no coincidence that Leo’s Rerum Novarum (“Of New Things”) appeared in 1890—which is to say, at around the same time that the U.S. established Labor Day. In that era, factories and mass production were churning the old agricultural economy, dislocating ancient folkways, and creating new kinds of economic challenges, as well as, of course, new opportunities. Amidst all this flux, people were understandably desperate to find ways to re-establish social equilibrium.
And yet precisely because the old conservative political system was failing to maintain a just order, radical alternatives—including anarchism, socialism, and communism—were gathering strength.
In response, enlightened leaders in the center stepped in, realizing that new and creative thinking was needed to fend off revolution.
Born September 14, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois, Prevost, 69, may very well have a 20+ year papacy if he lives into his late 80s. His clerical life began in 1977 when he entered the novitiate of the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) before making his solemn vows in 1981 and being ordained a priest in 1982. Over the next several decades, Prevost spent time in both the United States and Peru before Pope Francis appointed him apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Chiclayo in 2014.
According to various accounts, Prevost holds similar views to his predecessor, Pope Francis, with some differences on contentious issues. Per the College of Cardinals Report:
On key topics, Cardinal Prevost says little but some of his positions are known. He is reportedly very close to Francis’ vision regarding the environment, outreach to the poor and migrants, and meeting people where they are. He said last year “the bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom.”
He supported Pope Francis’ change in pastoral practice to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive Holy Communion. Prevost appears somewhat less favorable to currying favor with the LGBTQ lobby than Francis, but he showed mild support for Fiducia Supplicans.
As Bishop of Chiclayo, he also opposed a government plan for teaching gender theory in schools.
“The promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist,” he told local news media.
According to the New York Times, Prevost faced some controversy while Bishop of Chiclayo when handling the investigation of two priests who were accused of sexual abuse, though his supporters claim he was subject to a smear campaign
One woman in Chiclayo who said she and two other women were sexually abused by two priests as girls long before Cardinal Prevost was bishop accused him of mishandling an investigation and of not stopping one of the priests from celebrating Mass.
The diocese of Chiclayo said Cardinal Prevost opened an investigation that the Vatican closed. After a new bishop arrived, the investigation was reopened. Supporters of Cardinal Prevost say he is the target of a smear campaign by members of a Peruvian-based Catholic movement that Francis disbanded.
Close friends have described Prevost as a more reserved man than Pope Francis, saying he “holds himself back a bit.”
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