New Pope old problems

The cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday (May 8) elected Robert Francis Prevost as their 267th pope. Prevost, who has taken the name Pope Leo XIV, is the first American pontiff in history and the first pope to have been born in the United States. He is also a citizen of Peru, where he has spent much of his life. Prevost was elected as pontiff by on the second day of the conclave, by 133 red-robed cardinals who were sequestered in the Sistine Chapel after the fourth ballot. The process was completed quickly, especially given the large number of cardinals taking part in the conclave. Pope Leo will lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics .Earlier, after days of speculation it was largely expected that Luis Antonio Gokim Tagle, a Filipino prelate of the Catholic Church, and the President of Interdicasterial Commission for Consecrated Religious since December 8, 2019 would become the next pope. There was a wave of expectancy in Asia that this time an Asian would become the Pope of the Catholic church. Tagle is often called the “Asian Francis” because of his similar commitment to social justice. He is the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization since 2019, overseeing the Church’s missionary work, and Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle shares more than just a warm smile and infectious laugh with Pope Francis. Tagle, who looks younger than his 67 years and likes to be called by his diminutive nickname “Chito”, has headed the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelisation, effectively the Church’s missionary arm, for the past five years. That position gave him enormous influence over national churches in developing countries. The election of a new Catholic Pope has always made headlines across the globe but unlike other years, the election of Prevost was bereft of controversies. However, it is believed that the Catholic church in the US is deeply divided. On the one hand, there are those who supported Trump in the last election and adhere to Vance’s view that there is an order of love which puts family first, then your neighbourhood, and far after that, the rest of humanity. Then there are those who agree with Pope Francis that this is a misreading of Christianity – Leo XIV is likely to agree with his predecessor. For Prevost is an American with a difference: a cleric who has spent much of his life overseas. Pope Francis consistently urged the Church to engage with the peripheries, advocating for a love unconstrained by narrow allegiances. The Catholic church in the US is deeply divided yet there are many who want to bridge the divide. Trump can be a divider as those who support his ideology adhere to Vance’s view that there is an order of love which puts family first, then your neighbourhood, and far after that, the rest of humanity. Pope Leo has an opportunity to turnaround the divide and begin the work at his own country- the USA. His pontificate will be keenly observed as he endeavors to steer a diverse, and at times fragmented, global community toward a renewed sense of shared purpose.