Pope Leo’s stance on key points, from local weather change to LGBTQ+ rights to U.S. politics

Pope Leo XIV has already made historical past, because the first-ever American-born pope to guide the Roman Catholic Church. However how would possibly he form the establishment?

Robert Francis Prevost was elected on Thursday after a two-day conclave to succeed the late Pope Francis — a progressive pontiff who was recognized for his dedication to social justice.

Whereas Pope Leo is taken into account a centrist, he shares a few of his predecessor’s views on together with the atmosphere and outreach to migrants.

Leo can be notable for being the primary Augustinian friar to guide the church. The Order of Saint Augustine, which dates again to 1244, says it has some 2,800 members all through 47 nations. Their three core values are “truth, unity and love.”

“And so, Leo XIV has been formed on those foundational values,” the Rev. Robert Hagan, prior provincial of the Province of St. Thomas of Villanova instructed NPR. “Francis spoke a lot about synodality, to listen. I think Pope Leo XIV is someone who is also willing to listen to the voices on the margins.”

Leo’s public feedback and social media presence courting again years assist paint an image of his stances on sure points.

At a 2023 Vatican press convention, for instance, he mentioned, “Our work is to enlarge the tent and to let everyone know they are welcome inside the Church.” In an interview the next 12 months, he echoed Francis’ view {that a} bishop is “called to serve.”

“The bishop is not supposed to be a little prince sitting in his kingdom, but rather called authentically to be humble, to be close to the people he serves, to walk with them, to suffer with them, and to look for ways that he can better live the Gospel message in the midst of his people,” the then-cardinal instructed Vatican Information in 2024.

Here is what Pope Leo has mentioned up to now about a lot of points, from LGBTQ+ Catholics to local weather change — although it isn’t clear if his views have modified since or if they’re clear indicators of how he’ll information the world’s billion-plus Catholic trustworthy.

Equality for girls

Like his predecessor, Leo opposes the thought of ordaining feminine deacons. That is consistent with hundreds of years of Catholic understanding, as he instructed journalists at a 2023 convention.

“Something that needs to be said also is that ordaining women — and there’s been some women that have said this interestingly enough — ‘clericalizing women’ doesn’t necessarily solve a problem, it might make a new problem,” he mentioned.

On the identical time, he touted Francis’ efforts to extend ladies’s participation and visibility within the Vatican, resembling by appointing a number of ladies to outstanding management roles. Actually, Francis tasked the now-pope with overseeing one in all his most revolutionary reforms: including three ladies to the workplace that vets bishop nominations in 2022.

“I think there will be a continuing recognition of the fact that women can add a great deal to the life of the Church on many different levels,” Leo added.

LGTBQ Catholics

Whereas Francis was recognized for his efforts to make the church extra open to members of the LGBTQ neighborhood — famously asking, “Who am I to judge?” — Leo might not observe in his footsteps.

In a 2012 deal with, Leo expressed concern that Western tradition promotes “enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,” particularly referencing abortion, the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”

Leo’s views on the Vatican’s 2023 doc Fiducia Supplicans — which allows non-liturgical blessings for same-sex {couples}, amongst others — are additionally ambiguous. He didn’t wholly endorse or reject the doc, as a substitute emphasizing the necessity for nationwide bishops’ conferences to have the authority to interpret such steerage inside their native cultural context.

Throughout his eight-year tenure as a bishop within the Peruvian metropolis of Chiclayo, he opposed a authorities plan so as to add teachings on gender in colleges.

“The idea of promoting gender ideology is confusing because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist. So God created man and woman, and the attempt to confuse ideas from nature will only harm families and people,” he instructed the Peruvian newspaper Diario Correo.

He went on to say that folks ought to “respect the dignity of each person, including the options that adult persons may have.”

“To talk about matters of identity and sexual orientation with a child who hasn’t yet reached a sufficient age of development will create much confusion,” he added.

Local weather change 

Leo — like his predecessor — has been outspoken about the necessity to confront local weather change. In 2024 remarks, he referred to as for the church to maneuver “from words to action.”

The then-cardinal cautioned towards the “harmful” results of technological improvement and reaffirmed the Vatican’s commitments to defending the atmosphere, pointing to Pope Francis’ set up of photo voltaic panels and shift to electrical automobiles as examples.

Leo mentioned humanity’s “dominion over nature” shouldn’t be “tyrannical,” however moderately a “relationship of reciprocity” with the atmosphere.

Migrants

Leo spent most of his profession in Peru and holds twin citizenship there.

Jesus Leon Angeles, the coordinator of a Catholic group in Chiclayo who has recognized the now-pope since 2018, instructed Reuters that he confirmed particular concern for Venezuelan migrants in Peru.

“He is a person who likes to help,” he mentioned.

The U.N. refugee company says there are over 1.5 million forcibly displaced Venezuelans dwelling in Peru, making it one of many largest host nations for refugees fleeing the humanitarian and financial disaster there.

Pope Francis advocated vocally for the rights of migrants and refugees, typically reminding those who he was a descendant of immigrants himself. He publicly criticized the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration through the years, most not too long ago calling its mass deportation plan “a major crisis” in a February letter to U.S. Catholic bishops.

U.S. politics 

Leo, who’s from Chicago, voted in Republican major elections in 2012, 2014 and 2016, and most not too long ago within the 2024 normal election, based on voting data obtained by Politico. Illinois voters do not register as members of a celebration, so he’s listed as “undeclared” and it isn’t clear for whom he voted.

Occasional tweets and retweets on Leo’s X account might maintain extra clues to his political opinions.

His most up-to-date retweet was crucial of the Trump administration’s partnership with El Salvador to deport immigrants with out authorized standing, quoting a bishop who requested, “Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?”

In February, he posted hyperlinks to 2 op-eds disagreeing with Vice President Vance’s February feedback on the Christian hierarchy of affection, which have been extensively criticized, together with by Pope Francis. One in all Leo’s tweets repeated the headline: “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

Leo has additionally shared messages opposing the dying penalty, supporting vaccination in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and retweeting prayers for George Floyd after his police killing in 2020.

“We need to hear more from leaders in the Church, to reject racism and seek justice,” he tweeted on the time.

On-line sleuths have dug up older tweets on his feed that criticize the primary Trump administration, together with its household separation coverage, efforts to repeal Deferred Motion for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Trump’s “unhealthy hombres” rhetoric.

Some right-wing figures in U.S. media have been fast to criticize the brand new pope as his social media posts emerged, with Trump ally Laura Loomer calling him “WOKE MARXIST POPE.” Trump himself congratulated Leo on Thursday.

“It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope,” the president wrote on Fact Social. “What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”