Warming to Pope Leo XIV

Revised early thoughts

After my podcast Friday on the new Pope, I think it good to update my worthless opinion in an attempt to make it slightly less worthless. But I do so with the same caveats I gave in said podcast. His pontificate is very early. Popes often surprise; the last two certainly did. So it is way too early either to freak out or to think he is another Leo the Great. It is a time to give the man a chance and to pray.

That said, I have become slightly more optimistic over the weekend for the following reasons.

First, I blamed Cardinal Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, for his role as Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in appointing McElroy as Archbishop of Washington and in stripping Bishop Strickland of the Diocese of Tyler. But I now think I did not give enough weight to Prevost getting that appointment recently, in 2023. He was hardly in a position to keep Francis from being Francis in his appointments. That lib Cards Cupich and Tobin had an outsized influence on Francis confirms that I might not have been fair.

Over at Trad Cat Rorate Caeli is this more generous take on Prevost’s prefecture:

This is why it’s odd to see Prevost being blamed for the appointment of McElroy to Washington, when it were liberal cardinals Cupich and Tobin who had fiercely lobbied for it. If Prevost was a radical progressive, wouldn’t he push for such promotions without any need for Cupich to meet Francis?

It seems clear that Prevost was promoted in the final phase of Francis’ pontificate, when various powerful prelates were struggling for influence and he acted modestly and professionally. When Francis was recovering temporarily, after he was discharged from the hospital and only able to occasionally meet with prelates like Prevost, and not Cupich, two new archbishops got appointed to the USA (McKnight and McGovern) who both have moderate-conservative rather than modernist profiles….

Finally, the sacking of Bishop Strickland, starting with an apostolic visitation in June 2023 is arguable the only example where Prevost may have had an important role. Sources varied on whether Pope Francis ordered the visitation or Prevost, but Prevost likely had little choice as he was very new to his position, and with Strickland sometimes being harshly critical of Pope Francis on Twitter. Strickland himself seems pleased, or at least not unhappy, with the election of Prevost.

And the case of Strickland illustrates what can happen to those who stood up to Francis. As a new Prefect, Prevost was hardly in a position to do so.

The same Rorate post also notes the “odd alliance of supporters” behind the election of Prevost. Who would have thought Cupich and Burke would both support him? And he was seen entering Cardinal Burke’s apartment for a meeting before the Conclave. Burke’s apparent support is encouraging.

I mentioned in my podcast my discomfort that the likes of James Martin were visibly pleased with the election of Prevost. But I suggested a possibility that I have not seen elsewhere. It could be that the happiness of such cretins was not out of victory but out of relief that the Conclave did not fall apart for them. There were rumors in the pre-Conclave weeks that the libs were getting nervous. And it is now an open secret that LibCat faves Perolin and Tagle failed early in the Conclave. So it could be the libs were relieved that they got an acceptable choice and without a marathon Conclave.

I concede that my speculation might be exposed as wishful thinking in due time. We shall see.

Finally, I am encouraged that Pope Leo is actually acting like a Roman Catholic Pope. I am not Roman Catholic, but I like Popes to be Catholic, thank you. His vestments, his statements (for the most part), using a lot of Latin in his liturgy, moving into the Apostolic Palace that Francis shunned with ostentatious humility — these signs and more indicate that he might be no Francis II.

Again, it is early. And again, watching to see how much he undoes Francis’ suppression of the Traditional Latin Mass will be both important and an important indicator. This is a pray, wait, and see time and probably will be for some time.

But I am now slightly encouraged. And, curmudgeon that I am, that is something.