The new Pope of Rome, Leo XIV, the 267th, is an American, son of a father of Italian-French origin and a mother of Spanish origin—Mildred Martínez—a religious member of the Augustinian order who has worked alongside and in harmony with the late Pope Francis, whom he addressed this Thursday, from the King's balcony, from the King's balcony, from the King's balcony. Leo XIV is in line with the vocation for change in the Church initiated by Francis. However, we will see how far he is willing and able to go. In any case, in Vatican terms, he is a young pope: 69 years old. And a pope with considerable experience in the Curia, where he was Prefect of the Dicastery of Bishops, a position he acceded to in 2023, the same year he was ordained a cardinal. Therefore, if he is indeed determined to transform the Vatican power structure and bring new life into the Church from the ground up and with an open mind, he will have both time and awareness of the internal obstacles he will encounter.
The choice of the name Leo gives a clue to his innovative nature. Leo XIII (1878-1903), whom he has decided to follow, was the first to write a social encyclical, the Rerum novarum, with which he sought a "third way" between revolutionary socialism and hard-line liberalism. His papacy would pave the way, in the political arena, for Christian democracy in Europe. If the Church of Leo XIII's time was ultramontane, the one Leo XIV took over is still far removed from the social reality of the 21st century. If the ideological and political polarization of 1900 was strong, so is that of 2025, where far-right discourses have been gaining followers and power.
It seems that Leo XIV wants to exercise global ideological leadership just as Leo XIII initiated it. With his first words, he insisted on "peace," "dialogue," and fraternal human "unity." But beyond the pretension of playing a global role of moderation and "building bridges," he will encounter crucial unresolved challenges that remain to be seen how he addresses: the subordinate role of women in the Church, the integration and full acceptance of homosexuals in the institution, and the scourge of sexual abuse also within the Church and the West.
Since 2015, Leo XIV has served in what, in Vatican terms, is considered a peripheral and popular church: the diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, where he played a prominent role in the Peruvian Episcopal Conference and in the restoration of the community. This Thursday, in addition to speaking in Italian, he spoke a few words in Spanish, specifically addressed to the Peruvian faithful; however, he did not use English. This is because, beyond his youth and formative years, he has lived far from the American Church, where conservatism predominates. In fact, his election responds to the classic subtle Vatican doublespeak: an American is elected, yes, but at the same time someone clearly removed from what Trumpism represents.
With Leo XIV, there will be no regression. What remains to be seen is whether there will be continuity or progress to bring the Church closer to the times in which it lives.
