The first pontiff from the U.S. is Catholic. Maybe he’ll make Catholics Catholic, too.
The first pontiff from the U.S. is Catholic. Maybe he’ll make Catholics Catholic, too.
O nce JD Vance and Marco Rubio and all the news anchors and reporters and podcasters — and anyone else with an excuse or a budget to go to Rome — have gone home, there will still be a market for details about the new pope. There are books being published — at least one of them this week — about the papacy of Pope Leo XIV, at least three by Americans I know. One is a biography. Another is going to tell something from the conclave of cardinal electors (essentially sworn to secrecy) who met in the Sistine Chapel to elect him as the world watched its chimney. I never bothered to count the live-streams that were waiting for the white smoke to billow and indicate that a new pope for the Catholic Church had been chosen, but I saw enough of them to know that the situation was out of control. And isn’t that wonderful? Maybe the world, for all its faults, really wants to know about Pope Leo because it wants to know God. And Leo — new to most of us — may, in fact, know something about Him and may, we pray, even be close to Him.
Sure, you can be cynical and figure that the funeral of Pope Francis and the rituals of succession were simply our latest distractions from our responsibilities and concerns. Or, you can see it for what most of my conversations with people from all walks of life in recent weeks confirm: People were — and are — watching the Vatican because we are all looking for something more. Whether we know it or not. And, goodness, speaking as a Catholic, with every new thing I learn about the new pope, born Robert in Chicago, I feel a little bit as though I’m falling in love. No offense to Leo, but it’s not about him. He had me at hello, because it’s about God.
“Take courage! Without fear!” he said this on his first Sunday as pontiff, celebrating Mass at the tomb of Saint Peter in the crypt of Saint Peter’s Basilica — one of the coolest and holiest (and most historic) spots in the place. He echoed the last few household name popes when calling the world to courage, in the world-changing revolutions for freedom and our daily bouts with tyranny. Leo, Francis, Benedict, John Paul were all, of course, echoing Someone Else. Pope Leo continued: “Many times in the Gospel, Jesus says, ‘Do not be afraid.’ We need to be courageous in the witness we give, with the world and above all with life: giving life, serving, sometimes with great sacrifices in order to live out this very mission.” And it’s in focusing on our Creator and His plan for us that we realize that this life is not about ourselves. It’s about giving God permission to draw us out of our mistakes and sins, with His mercy, and into true human freedom.
Perhaps the most sobering, and exhilarating, life is that of a parent. Nothing else quite naturally insists that one offer sacrifice and service — and a superabundance of love — all the while trying to model truth and everything right and just, all the while being only human. Children are, perhaps, the key reason we need God’s grace and hope, and we know it.
“It is the responsibility of government leaders to work to build harmonious and peaceful civil societies,” Pope Leo said. Okay. And then he went for it: “This can be achieved above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman, ‘a small but genuine society, and prior to all civil society.’” That last part was a quote from his namesake, Leo XIII. He added, “No one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike.” Interestingly, he did not include this in the section of his address about communicating the truth in love. It’s almost as if he’s acknowledging that life is so much more fundamental than our political debates. As if he’s saying, to those who understand this to be true, Honor your vocation to parenthood with faithfulness, knowing that you are doing the most important work there is.
(Amusingly, it has seemed to come as a surprise to some major news outlets that the new pope would be opposed to abortion and same-sex marriage, things Pope Francis was clear about, too.)
We just celebrated Mother’s Day, and the pope acknowledged it. Every day is for encouraging mothers, because we can have neither life nor church without them. I always feel the responsibility to share a message that Pope Benedict XVI handed me in 2012 for all the women in the world (because you cannot relay something like that often enough unless you’re sure that every woman is aware of it). “Women of the entire universe,” it says, “whether Christian or non-believing, you to whom life is entrusted at this grave moment in history, it is for you to save the peace of the world.” I haven’t yet had the opportunity to ask him, but I’ve seen enough to feel confident that Pope Leo XIV believes this to be true.
“My own story is that of a citizen, the descendant of immigrants, who in turn chose to emigrate,” the new pope said to diplomats. “All of us, in the course of our lives, can find ourselves healthy or sick, employed or unemployed, living in our native land or in a foreign country, yet our dignity always remains unchanged: it is the dignity of a creature willed and loved by God.” You could also say that we are all in a temporary home. That’s why we need God. Because He knows why we are — for Him — and has plans for us that never end, and that’s all good news.
People see good news in Pope Leo, whether they recognize it as the good news of the Gospel or not. And quickly, they’ve learned that he’s Catholic, too, and not eager for a shot to upend the church or confuse people about what it teaches. As he reads from texts rather than speaking extemporaneously, it’s clear that he wants to be clear. He knows we need clarity.
So, it’s okay to fall for Leo. As evident from the new pope-themed bobbleheads, Topps baseball cards, and White Sox jerseys, Americans have Leo fever. As long as we all know that something about Leo is all about God. On our best days, all believers help bring others closer to God by the ways we live and love. So it is with the pope in Rome.
Maybe JD Vance will bring me back an “I heart Pope Leo” water bottle from the Vatican. Okay, maybe Vance won’t be the supplier. But even he may be listening with hope. Not that Leo will endorse his upcoming presidential campaign, but that he will help Vance be a better father, husband, man, public servant. It’s worth a prayer for all of us.
This column is based on one available through Andrews McMeel Universal’s Newspaper Enterprise Association.