Following the election of Pope Leo XIV, social media has exploded with Christians (mostly non-Catholics) claiming that the new pontiff is “woke.” The chief source for these claims would seem to be a handful of X (formerly Twitter) posts either written or reposted by the new pope over the past several years, criticizing President Donald Trump and Catholic convert and Vice President J.D. Vance and their immigration agenda. However, subsequent claims that Pope Leo XIV is a woke, open-borders globalist is plainly refuted — by the new pope himself.
In a homily while still Cardinal Robert Prevost, the successor of St. Peter explicitly condemned mass migration as a “huge problem,” affirming that illegal immigration and open borders are in no way compatible with the teachings of the Catholic Church. He simply advocated — again, in keeping with Catholic social and moral teaching — “There’s got to be a way both to solve the problem, but also to treat people with respect.”
Another grudge held against Pope Leo XIV — less than three days into his pontificate, mind you — is his seeming proximity to the views of the late Pope Francis. By all accounts, Leo XIV is aligned with Francis on a number of matters, such as “synodality” and ecological concerns.
But it is crucial to note the difference in temperament between the two men. Where Francis had a tendency of speaking off-the-cuff, sowing confusion and hurt with his lack of clarity and care, Leo XIV has already proven himself to be far more careful and considerate in communication. He reads from prepared notes, for example, and has already indicated that he intends “to reserve for himself a period of reflection, prayer, and dialogue before making any definitive appointments or confirmations” to Vatican curial positions. No doubt influenced by his history as a canonist and a mathematician, the new pontiff seems to weigh his words and actions carefully, recognizing the gravity of his office and the force which the pontiff wields.
I imagine that, within the coming months, Catholics around the world will bear witness to the necessity of strong communication skills. Leo XIV is not “woke,” and I expect that the world will even come to recognize that Francis wasn’t necessarily “woke,” either, but was largely a poor communicator, prone to emotional rhetoric and snap judgements rendered in the heat of any given moment. That temperament has done much damage to the Catholic Church and caused deep divisions, and it is now Leo XIV’s responsibility to repair that damage and heal those divisions.
But temperament is not the only difference between the two popes. Several reports have claimed that Leo XIV is not only friendly towards traditionalist Catholics, but celebrates the Tridentine Mass — which Francis had heavily restricted with his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes — himself, and has done so for years, even prior to Pope Benedict XVI’s 2007 motu proprio liberalizing the celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.
Leo XIV notably chose to appear on the loggia wearing the traditional garb of newly-elected popes, as did Benedict XVI and Pope St. John Paul II. Francis famously rejected the ornate garments as a symbol of pride. And while Francis “humbly” chose not to live in the Apostolic Palace, instead spending substantial sums renovating the Casa Santa Maria to accommodate the pope, Leo XIV will live where his predecessors have for centuries.
As noted, Leo XIV is also a canonist. He has already shown himself to be careful and considerate, but his background in canon law will also distinguish him from his immediate predecessor. In 2022, the late Cardinal George Pell issued a memo to his fellow cardinals, identifying the most disastrous aspects of the Francis pontificate and offering suggestions for the next pope to consider. One of the chief disasters Pell observed was a breakdown in the rule of law.
“The lack of respect for the law in the Vatican risks becoming an international scandal,” Pell wrote, pointing to Francis’s penchant for centralizing power in his own office and ruling by unappealable motu proprio, often dismissing curial officials without cause. The Australian cardinal even suggested that the Francis pontificate had engaged in spying and unjust criminal prosecutions and manufactured evidence in order to cover up financial crimes. He thus advised the next pope to “restore a proper respect for the law.”
In some ways, Leo XIV is a son of Francis, but he is a son of the Catholic Church first. While he may hold some similar views as the previous pontiff, the new pope differs in temperament, education, experience, expertise, and communication skills. All evidence so far would suggest that Leo XIV is not at all “woke,” and his anticipated clarity may even show that Francis was far less “woke” than has been suggested. Either way, Leo XIV has been on the Chair of St. Peter for all of three days. Christians of all stripes should exercise charity, prudence, and humility and allow Leo XIV the opportunity to prove himself as pontiff.
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