On the appointment of Pope Leo XIV
Tuesday 13th May 2025
PCN Chair, Simon Cross, responds to the appointment of Pope Leo XIV
The death of Pope Francis and the subsequent appointment of Pope Leo XIV, the 267th person to be given that role, have made headlines around the world.
Progressive Catholics have generally welcomed Pope Leo’s appointment, with some seeing him as someone who can build bridges between different factions within the Catholicism. Others have expressed optimism that he might continue some of the more progressive aspects of Francis’ agenda.
As yet, of course, it is too early to know how realistic these hopes may be.
The names that Popes choose are significant, though, and the choice of Leo seems to signify that the new Pope does indeed have an ongoing commitment to social justice and reform.
There is some cause for caution, though, Pope Leo’s stance on the blessing of same-sex unions has been somewhat less than enthusiastic, and he is understood to remain opposed to any move towards the ordination of women.
The caution cuts both ways, of course, and he has certainly not been a popular appointment among the politically conservative lobby in the USA, with one prominent activist labelling him as “anti-Trump, anti-MAGA, pro-open borders and a total Marxist like Pope Francis.” Others have complained that he’s previously criticised Trump’s policies and supported George Floyd.
His right-wing critics complain that he is ‘progressive’ or ‘liberal’ on issues such as immigration, climate change and social justice.
Ultimately the office of Pope is, of course, a political one. Pope Leo is a head of state, as well as the head of a church and will have many competing tensions to manage. Political leaders inevitably operate within a set of constraints that mean they will, equally inevitably, disappoint some of our expectations.
But as Dr King said, borrowing a phrase from the 19th century progressive Theodore Parker: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
We may hope, then that the new Pope, with his commitment to the Augustinian order, and its emphases of humility and scholarship, may play his part in moving the Roman Catholic community a little further along that arc.
On that basis I think we should welcome Pope Leo, and support him as he seeks to move things forward, let’s not burden him with unrealistic expectations, but instead let’s look for, find, and support the positive elements of change as and when he brings them.