From wielding more power than kings in the middle ages, to being amongst world leaders in the present day, the position of pope has always been one of immense political power. The “pope” is the leading priest of the Catholic church, defining morality for Catholics worldwide. With over a billion Catholics in the world, the ethics this leader preaches greatly affect society.
The previous pope, Pope Francis, notably appointed women to leadership positions within the church, something no other pope has ever done. Unfortunately, on April 21, 2025, he passed away, which meant a new pope had to be elected. The new pope’s identity became a cause of worry for many, including Catholic women, who feared that they would not be given the same leadership rights Francis allowed them.
A new pope was elected by vote of the conclave, a gathering of cardinals, (high-ranking priests) from around the globe. The person that was elected to fill the vacancy was the then Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV. But concerns still stood: Would this be a downgrade of a Pope, or a gleam of hope?
Pope Francis
As previously mentioned, one of Pope Francis’s most notable actions was his appointment of women to leadership positions in the Catholic church. However, he was adamant that women could not become priests, which disappointed and aggravated Catholic women. Furthermore, his support of women was questioned when he sided with a bishop whom Chilean victims claimed was complicit in their sexual abuse cases.
Thankfully, he later acknowledged his mistake and tearfully apologized in person to the alleged victims: “For my part, I recognize and so I want it to be faithfully transmitted that I have incurred grave mistakes of judgment and perception of the situation, especially due to the lack of truthful and balanced information,” Francis wrote. “From now on I ask forgiveness of all those I offended and I hope to be able to do it personally in the coming weeks”.
He later reinforced his support of victims when he defrocked the former U.S. Cardinal Theodore McCarrick after an investigation proved he had molested several people. Additionally, he passed a law requiring priests to report any abuse they had witnessed. These actions reinstated people’s faith in his care of women, but some women were still dissatisfied that they could not become priests.
Pope Francis was also vehemently anti-war, this opinion showed in his comments about the Israeli-Palestinian war. He exhibited sympathy for Palestine, and referred to Israel’s actions as “acts of terror”, despite this he met with Israeli hostages. These actions proved his disdain for violence on either side of the war, he wished nothing but peace upon every person, Israeli or Palestinian. In spite of his more progressive beliefs, Pope Francis was still anti-abortion. He never shunned women who received them but still considered abortion a grave sin and an act of “homicide”.
Another less progressive belief of his was his stance on homosexuality and transgenderism. While he would never shame anyone for coming to church, gay couples were not allowed Catholic weddings under his supervision. When it came to transgender individuals, he called them “children of god” but did not support gender ideology. Pope Francis was nothing short of controversial in his time as pope. He did an exceptional job at heightening women’s involvement in the church, but fell short of progressiveness when it came to other topics.
Pope Leo XIV
Even before his inauguration, Pope Leo was facing severe allegations of sexual misconduct. Six weeks before his ascension to pope, an activist group named Survivor Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), filed a complaint against the then Cardinal Robert Provest accusing him of mishandling a situation involving sexual abuse. The group claimed that he had allowed a priest accused of sexually abusing 13 minors to live at the St. John Stone Friary in Hyde Park, a place half a block from a Christian elementary school. The aforementioned priest had been legally restricted from working with minors; however, the school was never notified of his close proximity. Unlike his predecessor, Pope Leo has not made a public statement regarding the situation.
He has also received backlash for his opposition to the current U.S. administration. He criticized the Trump administration for their disrespect towards migrants, urging them to be more compassionate. His immediate dislike and recognition of what this administration was doing stemmed from the fact that Pope Leo is the first ever American Pope. Dislike aside, he met with Vice President JD Vance for a discussion about faith and international affairs.
One of the main subjects of discussion was the Ukraine-Russian war, which Pope Leo hopes to bring to an end ceasefire. He also urged for an immediate ceasefire between Palestine and Israel, and criticized Israel for their use of force and lack of humanitarian aid for Palestinians. Evidently, Pope Leo shares the same anti-war ideology as his predecessor. Also like Francis, Pope Leo was anti-abortion, and believed that life started at conception and deserved to be protected at all times. Additionally he claimed that family is based on the union of a man and a woman and in 2012, criticized Western culture for promoting a “homosexual lifestyle”. He also expressed his want for women to have more leadership in the Catholic church, but opposed any notions of women becoming priests as did Francis, Overall, Pope Leo seems to share majority of his beliefs with his predecessor. Where he contrasts is the lack of apology for his negligence when it comes to handling pedophilic sexual abuse.
Pope Leo’s American identity makes the intertwinement between American politics and Catholicism stronger than ever before. His opinions now affect our government more than ever. In order to see whether American citizens view Pope Leo as a downgrade of a pope, or a gleam of hope, I interviewed Mr. Stevens, who stated “it’s far too early to say whether or not Pope Leo is an improvement from Pope Francis. Although, I hope he follows in Pope Francis’s footsteps as he was very good for the Catholic church.” Currently, Pope Leo does seem to be following in his predecessor’s footsteps, but only time will tell what this new pope will do with his position of power.
