Pope Anonymous

 

The subhead to this blog is “Catholic comments on the passing parade.” So regular readers have a right to expect some comment on the recent election of Pope Leo XIV. 

Yet my unbending principle here is that I will never write unless I have something to contribute: unless I can say something no one else is saying. Otherwise it is just about me.

I have no special insight regarding Pope Leo XIV. I see only what others see. The indications are mixed. As Cardinal Prevost, and Bishop Prevost, he has not been outspoken on many issues.

Perhaps this means he will be measured and moderate as pope; a change from Pope Francis.

He has recently rebuked US VP Vance on the latter’s interpretation of the ordo amoris. On that, I think Leo, and Francis, are right. Agape, caritas, cannot play favourites. We owe no greater love to our family than to the stranger. We have a greater responsibility to family, or to country, because we owe them a debt, or have voluntarily taken on responsibility for them; but no greater love. We owe hospitality to the stranger in need. How this translates into practical policy on immigration may be subject to honest debate.

But I digress.

Even those who know what he has written, and his stance on the issues, do not necessarily know what Leo will be like as pope. Heretofore, he has been obliged to work with the team, under a vow of obedience. Now the final call is up to him. 

This has produced surprises in the past. Leo XIII was elected as the modernist candidate in that conclave. He turned out to be the great opponent of the modernist heresy. Pius IX was elected as the liberal candidate, but turned out to be quite conservative. John XXIII was elected as a traditionalist, but convoked Vatican II. 

So I do not know. We do not know. The spirit leads.

All I can say is that I have a good feeling about Leo XIV. I had an immediate bad feeling about Pope Francis, when he emerged on the loggia. When Benedict emerged, I was on the one hand delighted, knowing him already. But on the other, I had a sense of unease. I felt he was miscast as pope. If I remember correctly, I had a good feeling about JPII, knowing nothing of him. I felt eager to see what he would do. 

So I will trust my instincts. Perhaps you can only trust yours.