Well, we have a Pope!!! Everyone I know was incredibly surprised not only by the choice, but also that there was a choice at all. I heard about the fact of the election just a few minutes before a Scripture class, and as more information trailed in, class shifted back and forth between a discussion of Acts of the Apostles to the choice of Robert Prevost as the first American Pope. I went to lunch with a parishioner and to run a couple of errands. In the bank two people wished me "Congratulations" and one of these (who is traveling to Rome this weekend) asked about what was required to elect a Pope (simple majority, unanimous vote, etc) and I explained a bit about election (2/3 majority plus 1) and the added element of discernment with everyone coming together at the end under the impulse of the Holy Spirit. At UPS another woman knocked on the car window and said, Congratulations!! Exciting, isn't it?" I agreed.
I think everyone has a sense of Leo XIV's commitment to synodality, to the universality of everyone under the gospel of Christ, to the missionary task entrusted to every Christian, to social justice, building bridges, and especially to the centrality of Christ. The difference between Leo and Donald J Trump and the worldview they each hold, could not be more antithetical. I would say that Leo would resonate with the homily given by Bp Marianne Budde (Episcopal) at the National Cathedral when she made her plea for mercy to President Trump and his administration. And in all of this, we should remember that Pope Leo XIV is a registered Republican and holder of dual citizenship; he comes from an ethnic background including Creole with ancestors who were kept as slaves!
As we attend to Abp McElroy in Washington DC and Leo XIV, we will be more able to gauge in time how things will go with the Vatican and the US government. One area in which I am particularly interested is the separation of Church and State and the destructive impulses of "Christian" Nationalism. The new Office of Faith in the White House, and the "pro-Israel" way anti-semitism is now being defined, makes me concerned that "eliminating anti-Christian bias" may also morph into a crackdown on any version of Christianity that is not in accord with "Christian" Nationalism. Freedom of Religion means freedom of ALL religious belief, including all versions of Christianity. Similarly, will any criticism of Churches, clergy, Religious, etc., translate into anti-Christian bias?
A second concern is current immigration praxis and the Biblical imperative that we make neighbors of all people. A third is the fact that we live in a world where what is true and just is guided by Paul's wisdom from Galatians, "For you are all Sons of God in Jesus Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, all are one in Christ Jesus." Within the Church itself, a Pope who will continue to move us along the road of synodality to a Church that is truly synodal at its roots, sounds like something Leo XIV is committed to. And how will that work out for the current administration?
In any case, I think we Catholics have reason to be encouraged! I believe the Holy Spirit was truly active in this election, both through Pope Francis' preparations for this day, and in the conclave itself, so I too am excited that the Roman pontiff really is committed to building bridges (the very meaning of the word "pontiff") in a world calling us to move forward, not back to the 19th century as the present American government administration seems to desire, or to a pre-Vatican II Church as some bishops seem wont to push us!! All I can say today is, "Thanks be to God"!!!
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