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Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost’s Ascension to the Pausacy marks an extraordinary moment for American leadership on the world stage at a time when President Trump has transformed the reputation of the country abroad and fed the distrust among old allies.
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But although two Americans are now in positions of enormous global influence, Pope Leo XIV can offer the world a different view of American values than the first approach of Mr Trump, which he has performed through stiff rates, imperialist overmeinzingen and enormous cuts on foreign aid.
When he was introduced into the world, the new Pope – who speaks five languages and is a naturalized citizen of Peru – emphasized his pluralistic background, which spoke in Italian (his new constituency represents) and Spanish (his old ones). He did not speak English and did not refer to the United States, even when some Catholics on Sint -Pietersplein waved excited to American flags. (On Friday he spoke briefly in English when he delivered his first homily.)
There are indications That the first American pope rejects the hard views of the Trump administration. A social media account under his name has again posted messages that are critical of the functions of the president on issues such as immigration, weapon control and climate change. In February the account shared a link to an article in the national Catholic reporter entitled ‘JD Vance is wrong: Jesus does not ask us to rank our love for others. “
“We have this powerful moral voice that may be able to confront the other most powerful American voice,” said Charlie Sykes, an anti-Trump conservative that is a Catholic. “Donald Trump punishes the world as the ugly American, and now we have another prominent American who can confront him.”
Mr. Sykes said that the advocacy of Pope Leo on behalf of migrants in particular could challenge Mr Trump, who followed an aggressive campaign to deport them as quickly as possible.
“Part of Donald Trump’s profession is that he is the great champion of Christianity and now he will have to explain that to a fellow American who is the Pope,” said Mr. Sykes. “There are few or no figures who have the platform and the voice of the Holy chair.”
John Prevost, the pope’s brother, told the New York Times in an interview That he didn’t think his brother would shy away from expressing his disagreements with the president.
“I know he is not happy with what is going on with immigration,” he said. “I know for sure. How far he goes with it is just a gamble, but he won’t just lean back. I don’t think he will be the quiet.”
Still, Vatican analysts say Pope Leo is more reserved than his predecessor, and although they expect that he will continue to defend migrants and the poor, some do not expect that he will do this in the pronounced manner as Pope Francis.
Mr. Trump and his supporters have also found aspects of the background of the new pope that excites them, including his fiery anti-abortion interests and his opposition against a government plan in Peru to add gender teachings in schools.
“He has said and did a number of mixed things in the past,” said John Yep, the Chief Executive of Catholics for Catholics, a group that supports Mr Trump. “Let’s see how he does that. I don’t want to be right to the cause.”
In the hours since the selection of Pope Leo, the president has only praised for the new leader of the church. Mr. Trump and vice -president JD Vance both congratulated him in posts on social media and celebrated his American heritage.
“The president made a response to Paus Leo’s announcement yesterday,” said Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary of the White House, reporters on Friday when he was asked about the Pope’s comments. “He is very proud of an American pope.”
It is unclear whether Mr. Trump or Mr. Vance had been aware of Pope Leo’s criticism of their policy, but some of the most strict supporters of the president have already registered their displeasure.
“He is anti-trump, anti-maga, pro-open boundaries and a total Marxist such as Pope Francis,” Laura Loomer, the extreme right-wing activist who has persuaded Mr Trump to dismiss some of his assistants because they are not loyal enough, wrote nothing good to look at. “
Representative Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of the house and a pious Catholic, praised the dedication of Pope Leo to the poor and said she hoped that he could unite American Catholics in partisan lines.
“His values -based vision for the church is very different from what we see from some leaders, if you call them it in our country, but I don’t expect him to occupy a political debate with the President of the United States,” she said in an interview.
Although Pope Leo by birth is an American, he spent most of his adult life outside the country, and now as the Head of the state of another nation, it is still to see what relationship he will have with the United States. Pope Francis, who came from Argentina, never returned to his birthplace after he became the leader of the church.
American Cardinals said at a press conference on Friday that the American identity of Pope Leo was not a factor in his selection. When he was announced, the Vatican did not report his American nationality and introduced him instead as the second pope from America.
Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, DC, said that the conclave was not seen as a “continuation of the American elections”.
“It was not a conclave of the elections,” he said. “It was a desire to strengthen the Christian faith among God’s people.”
Joe Donnelly, the American ambassador of the Holy chair during the Biden administration, said that the selection of Pope Leo transcended any nationality, but would also serve to demonstrate American values on the world stage.
“I think Pope Leo will be a beautiful reflection of America, Chicago and all our hard -working people,” said Mr. Donnelly. “He is a prototype of the American success story, hard work, studying hard and being nice for others.”
The selection of the cardinals of an American pope defended the prevailing conviction that the church would not choose not a leader from global super power. In the days prior to the conclave, Catholic commentators speculated That Mr. Trump’s disruption of the global political and economic order made a Pope born in the US even more unlikely.
Indeed, some spectators gathered on Thursday at St. Peter’s Square when his identity appeared.
“Un Americano?” Different muttered in Italian.
“I am surprised and disappointed,” said Adam Mocarski, 31, from Poland.
The immediate disillusion was not aimed at the new pope itself, but seemed to show how many Mr. Trump has roasted the international sentiment against America.
“Trump wants to share,” said Francesca Elicio, 29, a theater producer from Rome. “Trump has a negative effect, not only on America, but in other countries. Maybe the idea was to have an intermediary who can not only save the church but the whole world.”
Some analysts have stated that the cardinals have selected Pope Leo, precisely because of Mr Trump. The president agitated many Catholics, even some of his allies, when he placed an image generated by AI dressed as the Pope after Pope Francis died.
“The president may be right to claim credit for the selection, at least partly, given the photo he posted on social media,” said Rocco Palmo, a Catholic church analyst. “The choice of Leo is the way the cardinals to say:” This is our process and we decide what Catholic is, not the White House. “
Matthew Mpoke Bigg And Elizabeth Dias Reported from Vatican City.
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