(LifeSiteNews) — On this episode of Faith and Reason, Catholic political activist and former publisher and editor of Crisis Magazine Deal Hudson joins John-Henry Westen and Deacon Keith Fournier once again to discuss the first two weeks of Pope Leo XIV’s papacy, expectations for his pontificate, not being suspicious of the pontiff, and more.
Hudson opened the episode by stressing some of the encouraging signs from the first weeks of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, namely the pontiff’s focus on preaching the Gospel.
“People noticed right away [Pope Leo XIV] cares about appearance, he cares about liturgy. … He talks about the beauty of the Gospel, he talks about the beauty of Jesus Christ,” he said. “He talks about its attractiveness, the way it acts on us. … This is a man who’s steeped in Thomism.”
“I think we’re dealing with someone who is much more interested in a kind of evangelization that lifts up hearts. I think he’s going to be the pope of the Holy Spirit,” he added.
Hudson turned to Pope Leo’s recent decision to remove Francis-appointed Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia as head of the John Paul II Institute, emphasizing that this decision shows the new pope is already moving the Church in the right direction.
READ: Pope Leo XIV removes controversial Archbishop Paglia as head of John Paul II Institute
“One of the very first things that Pope Leo XIV has done is to fire the man [whom] Pope Francis appointed, and to put in a man whose reputation is that of being very orthodox, very evangelical, Cardinal Reina,” he said. “This is symbolic at the most important level. It’s a level of saying, ‘I’m going to reverse in this particular instance something that Pope Francis did, because it represents a rejection of John Paul II. I’m embracing John Paul II in this pontificate.’”
Deacon Keith jumped in to note how symbolic it was for Pope Leo XIV to step onto the loggia in traditional vestments and underscored the significance of the pontiff’s inaugural Mass occurring on Pope John Paul II’s birthday.
“When [Pope Leo] stepped out, dressed so clearly in that particular papal outfit, even the crozier … it was John Paul’s, and it’s not accidental,” the deacon said. “I believe it’s providential that he stepped out on John Paul II’s birthday, the 105th birthday of the late Pope St. John Paul II.”
READ: Will Pope Leo XIV offer the Church a chance for renewal? Bishop Strickland weighs in
Deacon Keith highlighted how Pope Leo XIV is speaking with clarity and echoed Hudson’s sentiment that the new Holy Father seems to be a man of great prayer.
“I really think … that this pope is a safe harbor. That doesn’t mean the storms aren’t gonna keep raging, but we have somebody in the Chair of Peter who is speaking clearly,” he said. “There is no ambiguity in his speech, none. … And he appears to be a man of great prayer.”
The deacon also stressed the significance of the pontiff’s name, “Leo XIV.”
READ: Pope Leo XIV’s name offers hope for the renewal of Catholic Social Doctrine
“The name matters as well, and what a powerful, powerful statement he made, because not only do we have Leo XIII, the great Thomist, but Leo XIII, who is considered to be one of the modern fathers of authentic Catholic social thought,” he said. “[Pope Leo XIII] condemned socialism. He stood firmly for social teaching as a part of the moral teaching, so I think that we’ve got a safe harbor.”
For more discussion on Pope Leo XIV’s first two weeks as pontiff, tune in to this episode of Faith and Reason.
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