SOURCE :- THE AGE NEWS
From his first moments on the balcony of St Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV, formerly US Cardinal Robert Prevost, gave some important clues about the kind of leader the 1.4 billion-member Catholic Church can expect.
The first speech from Vatican balcony
Pope Leo’s choice of languages and words put a clear emphasis on the need for peace, something the late Pope Francis often focused on. His first words in public were “La pace sia con tutti voi!” (Peace be with you!).
Leo thanked his fellow cardinals for choosing him as “the Successor of Peter”, the first leader of the early Christian Church. He also evoked the saint who is one of the church’s most influential theologians, describing himself as a “son of Saint Augustine”, who said: “With you, I am a Christian and for you, a bishop.”
The message he was sending combined the intellectual heft of Pope Benedict XVI, while looking to the early days of Christianity and its original mission.
“This identifies him first as a fellow Christian – and in that sense, not just a leader above his flock,” the University of Dayton’s Daniel Speed Thompson told The Conversation.
The American pope spoke both Italian and the Spanish he used during decades spent ministering in Peru. He did not mention the US nor speak English. His choice of languages reflected his “pastoral care”, Vanderbilt University’s Professor Bruce Morrill said.
“In some ways, it seems Leo’s symbolic message was, ‘I am not Francis’, emphasising his continuity with previous popes. Yet in his address, he clearly praised and thanked Francis, and invoked his predecessor’s emphasis on ‘synodality’: a church where all Catholics walk together,” Speed Thompson told The Conversation.
“It could be said that Leo’s first appearance on the balcony meant: ‘I am not Francis, but Francis’ vision will continue.’ ”
Kurt Martens, who teaches at The Catholic University of America in Washington, said references in Leo’s speech to embracing the whole world as well as synodality were signs the new pope would continue to focus on the poor and those on the margins of societies.
The clothes
Unlike Francis, who spurned many of the trappings of the papacy from the day he was elected, Leo wore the “mozzetta”, an elbow-length red cape, over his white cassock, suggesting a return to some degree of tradition.
He also wore an ornate red and gold stole with illustrations of the four gospels in the New Testament over his shoulders, the gold pectoral cross that is traditionally offered to a pope when he accepts the office, and a white skullcap, known as a “zuchetto” or “pileolus”.
Francis wore all white vestments and a simple cross when he first appeared on the balcony in 2013, signalling his desire for simplicity, before later adding the stole.
The new name
For most of the Catholic Church’s first millennium, popes used their given names. The practice of adopting a new name became ingrained during the 11th century, and from the mid-20th century, new popes began to choose names signalling the aim of their papacy, according to Reverend Roberto Regoli, a historian at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University.
The last pope to take the name was Leo XIII, an Italian who led the church from 1878 to 1903. That Leo softened the church’s confrontational stance toward modernity, especially science and politics, and laid the foundation for modern Catholic social thought. His most famous encyclical, Rerum Novarum of 1891, addressed workers’ rights and capitalism at the beginning of the industrial revolution.
Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni told reporters the new Pope’s decision to be called Leo XIV was a deliberate reference to the previous Leo, although some academics speculated he could also have wanted to signal a strong line of continuity: Brother Leo was the 13th-century friar who was a great companion to St Francis of Assisi, the late pope’s namesake.
The name “is a deep sign of commitment to social issues”, Manhattan University’s chair of religious studies Natalia Imperatori-Lee said.
Read: The history and meaning behind the new Pope’s name
Where does he stand on key issues?
Though he has kept a low media profile, Leo is seen as ideologically aligned with Francis, particularly in prioritising outreach to the poor, care for migrants, and a less hierarchical vision of church leadership. He told the Vatican’s official news website last year that “the bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom”.
On women in the church, Leo’s views appear aligned with Francis’, who opened more leadership roles to them than any previous pontiff, while affirming the church’s teaching barring the ordination of women as priests, The Washington Post reports.
However, Leo’s record also contains more conservative elements. In a 2012 address, he criticised Western media for promoting “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel”, referencing same-sex families and what he called the “homosexual lifestyle”. While he supported Francis’ pastoral move to allow Communion for divorced and remarried Catholics, he showed only reserved backing for blessings of same-sex couples.
There had long been a taboo against electing a pontiff from a country whose geopolitical power loomed so large in the secular sphere.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
His handling of clerical abuse cases during his time in Peru is expected to come under closer scrutiny now that he has ascended to the papacy.
Still, within the Vatican, Leo is regarded as a unifying figure. His international experience and quiet diplomacy allowed him to navigate the ideological and regional divides among the cardinals. His election may mark a stylistic shift from Francis’ more outspoken leadership, but not necessarily a reversal of his reforms.
The new Pope’s brother, John Prevost, described him as being very concerned for the poor and those who don’t have a voice, saying he expects him to be a “second Pope Francis”.
“He’s not going to be real far left and he’s not going to be real far right,” he said. “Kind of right down the middle.”
What is the Augustinian order he’s a part of?
The new pope was formerly the prior general, or leader, of the Order of St Augustine, formed in the 13th century as a community of “mendicant” friars dedicated to poverty, service and evangelisation.
The order’s requirements and ethos are traced to the 5th century St Augustine of Hippo, one of the theological and devotional giants of early Christianity. It works in about 50 countries, promoting a contemplative spirituality, communal living and service to others.
Nuns among the crowd that gathered in celebration as white smoke billowed from the Sistene Chapel’s chimney.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone
A core value of the order is to “live together in harmony, being of one mind and one heart on the way to God”.
Heir apparent
In many ways, Francis saw Prevost as his heir apparent.
Francis sent Prevost to take over a complicated diocese in Peru, then brought him to the Vatican in 2023 to serve as the powerful head of the office that vets bishop nominations from around the world, one of the most important jobs in the Catholic Church. In January, Francis elevated him into the senior ranks of cardinals, giving him prominence going into the conclave that few others had.
But there had long been a taboo against electing a pontiff from a country whose geopolitical power loomed so large in the secular sphere. Prevost, a Chicago native, was seemingly eligible because he’s also a Peruvian citizen and lived for years in Peru, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.
His selection is also enormously significant because of its potential impact on the future of the US Catholic Church, which has been badly divided between conservatives and progressives. With Prevost’s help at the bishop vetting office, Francis embarked on a 12-year project to rein in the traditionalists in the US, which is terrifically important to the global church financially.
Although Leo follows in the tradition of Francis, he has signalled he is a new, and different, pope.
AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
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