“The world has a new pope,” according to some headlines. The new Pontifex Maximus, Bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church, has been chosen. A native of the United States, who chose the papal name Leo XIV, will succeed Pope Francis.
Update: Pope Leo XIV has since stated that he wants to follow in the footsteps of Leo XIII (Info).
Inhalt / Content
Leo XIV – A “US-Peruvian”
Now he’s here, the 267th head of the Roman Catholic Church and the Holy See in Vatican City. The white smoke signaled the succession of Pope Francis, who died on April 21, 2025, and then, with the traditional proclamation “habemus papam,” the world was blessed with its “liberation from the sedes vacuus.”
Various media outlets are reporting: “The world has a new pope.”
Well, then “we” can all be happy.
The successor to the previous Argentinian is American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, born in Chicago in 1955. His roots, however, can be found in France and Italy (via his father) and Spain (via his mother). He served as a Curial Cardinal in Peru and was appointed Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops in January 2023.
On the second day of the conclave, May 8, 2025, Prevost was elected Bishop of Rome and thus Pope in the fourth round of voting. Prevost chose the papal name Leo XIV for himself..
Augustinian – Back to Conservatism?
Pope Francis belonged to the Jesuit order. His successor is an Augustinian. This sounds like a change of tide within the Vatican. Francis emerged as a liberal pontiff who certainly brought to light numerous “surprisingly new theologies.”
The Augustinian Order, on the other hand, looks back to Augustine of Hippo. One of the “greatest Church Fathers” and a developer of philosophies that are still considered among the most distinctive “theologies” of the Roman Church today. Thus, fundamentally conservative. Thomas Aquinas also bases many of his Roman Catholic theses on Augustine’s statements..
It will be interesting to see what the brand-new Pope Leo XIV will set in motion. The choice of his name could well indicate a synthesis between liberalism and conservatism. Francis’s name was inspired by Francis of Assisi, a natural philosopher and, above all, pantheist. The polytheism regarding natural phenomena is also reflected in the encyclical Laudato Si’, which Pope Francis published in 2015.
Leo XIV spiritual successor of Leo XIII?
However, in connection with Pope Leo XIV, Pope Francis’s second encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti,” is interesting. This ecclesiastical philosophy, published in October 2020, is essentially a repetition and also a supplement to Pope Leo XIII’s letter, “Rerum Novarum,” published on May 15, 1891, which was then described as a “sensational encyclical.” This could well play a role in the succession of the now 14th Leo and also be an indication of the future path.
With Rerum Novarum, Fratelli Tutti, and Laudato Si’, a connection is established between the Hellenistic (natural law)-oriented Catholic social teaching and the Babylonian doctrine of pantheism. The worship of nature intended for humanity within a socialist-communist environment is united with “all brotherhood” within a “human family” for the “common good.”
It looks like synthesis
Pope Leo XIV repeatedly spoke out vehemently in favor of measures against “man-made climate change.” He stated that the Roman Church must make the greatest efforts to prevent the “destruction of the Earth.” On the other hand, he rejected the “colorful rainbow world” and the lifestyle of homosexuals. On the issue of refugees (migration), the new Pope particularly criticized the US government’s measures, which he said were contrary to the refugees.
The supposed contradictions within the Vatican, the publicized friction between liberalism and conservatism, are merely being played out by the faithful flock and disseminated by the media as desired. But not, and this will likely soon be confirmed, by the “heads” of this ecclesiastical institution. The established roadmap will likely be followed jointly and in close solidarity (Info).
And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
Revelation 13:3
but not all, because:
…and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
Revelation 17:8
So, who is surprised?
Bible verses from King James Version (1611)
