I did not expect an American Pope. I thought there was a norm against it, by virtue of the Church wanting to avoid being led by a citizen of the world’s most powerful nation. But either I was wrong, or the norm has faded. Today, Cardinal Robert Prevost became the first American pope, taking the name of Leo XIV.
At least on the issue of immigration I am guardedly optimistic this might be a good choice. Cardinal Prevost’s (now Leo XIV’s) Twitter/X feed includes several posts critiquing Trump and Vance on immigration, such as this one and this one. Conservative Catholic legal commentator Ed Whelan of the Ethics and Public Policy Center has also called attention to these tweets and suggests Cardinal Prevost’s positions on this issue might have been instrumental in his selection as pope. I don’t know about that. But I hope it’s true.
While serving the Church in Peru, Cardinal Prevost advocated for the rights of Venezuelan refugees. We have that cause in common. In a much, much less significant way, I have tried to do the same here in the US, defending the valuable CHNV program (which allows Americans to sponsor Venezuelan and some other migrants fleeing Latin American dictatorships) against attacks by state governments and the Trump Administration, opposing Trump’s illegal efforts to use the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans. I have also informally advised people and organizations working to sponsor Venezuelans in the CHNV program.
This is just speculation. But perhaps advocating for Venezuelan refugees from socialism has led the new Pope to appreciate how awful that ideology is (a major blind spot for his predecessor). If socialism were all it’s cracked up to be, it would not have generated a horrifically oppressive regime whose depredations have led to the biggest refugee crisis in the history of the Western hemisphere. And if socialist policies were actually good for the poor, the poor would not be fleeing them in droves.
Atheist though I am, I will always be grateful to Pope John Paul II for his leadership in the struggle against communism, the greatest evil in the world at that time. Perhaps – just perhaps – the new pope can help lead the struggle against nationalism – the greatest evil of this time; see my article “The Case Against Nationalism” (coauthored with Alex Nowrasteh) on why it’s so awful, including in ways that parallel the evils of communism. Immigration is a central front in that vital struggle, though not the only front, by any means. And the leader of the world’s biggest universalist religious denomination is well-positioned to help combat it, should he wish to.
Obviously, this pope – like his predecessors – is likely to take many positions I am no fan of. I have no illusions that he’s secretly somehow a libertarian. But if he advocates for migrants and works to oppose socialist and nationalist oppression, he could do great good.
It may see improper to evaluate popes based on their views on social and political issues. But, like it or not, the leader of the world’s largest religion is necessarily a political figure, one with great potential influence on political debate. Thus, even those of us who are not Catholic have an interest in considering the Pope’s views on on such matters.
Things might be different if popes only sought to influence the internal affairs of their church and its adherents, as do the leaders of some smaller faiths. But the papacy has long sought to influence public opinion and government policy far beyond that.
UPDATE: It is perhaps worth noting that Leo XIII, the last Pope to take the same name as the current one, was highly critical of socialism, writing that “It is evident that the essential principle of socialism, the community of goods, must be completely rejected, as it only harms those it would seem to benefit, is directly contrary to the natural rights of humanity, and would introduce confusion and disorder into the common good.” It is sometimes said that a Pope’s choice of name indicates an affinity with the previous pope who took the same name.
