Has a Lion Entered the Vatican? Speculations on the Papacy of Pope Leo XIV
Is a good old fashioned street fight fomenting on the world stage?
What we all really want, those of us who are Catholic, those of us who are non-Catholic….is a sense of leadership that is actually moral, at the base.
Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker1
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Sunday’s ceremony at the Vatican installed Pope Leo XIV as the Bishop of Rome, the head of the Catholic Church and successor to St. Peter, in a lineage of 267 popes spanning nearly 2,000 years. Some of these popes scandaled the office; Pope Alexander VI fathered four children during his papacy and Pope Leo X promised eternal salvation in exchange for contributions to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica. Some of these popes the Church officially recognizes as saints; most recently Pope Saint John Paul II and Pope Saint Paul VI. Some perished as martyrs; several were decapitated, Pope Callistus I was thrown into a well, Pope Clement I into the sea with an anchor around his neck, St. Peter crucified upside down. In modern times, some spoke out emphatically against prevailing ideologies and trends, such as contraception and communism, in the face of fierce opposition. Others have not been so bold, acquiescing to social and government pressures to close down the Church, advocating the laity to inject themselves with experimental vaccines, in egregious contradiction to Church teachings.
The current papacy remains a mystery. Pope Leo XIV acknowledges that this yoke is “clearly beyond his limited powers.”2 And indeed, he has assumed this office in a world that portends to become increasingly dystopian. The 4th Industrial Revolution is nigh, if not already up on us. Its advocates make no bones about its aims: to solve problems such as disease and environmental catastrophe via technology that fundamentally changes what it means to be human. They’re primed for moral and legal opposition;3 yet in a culture where addiction to technology is more rampant and powerful than addiction to fentanyl, it’s feasible these dehumanizing plans will unfold without so much as a whimper of protest.
We are a Church; a world; in need of a leader who will guard and defend human dignity. In a statement given to the College of Cardinals on May 10th, the pope signaled to be this force:
I chose to take the name Leo XIV. There are different reasons for this, but mainly because Pope Leo XIII in his historic Encyclical Rerum Novarum addressed the social question in the context of the first great industrial revolution. In our own day, the Church offers to everyone the treasury of her social teaching in response to another industrial revolution and to developments in the field of artificial intelligence that pose new challenges for the defense of human dignity, justice and labour.4
This simple statement communicates a mouthful. It looks the 4th Industrial Revolution full in the face and offers an eloquent, emphatic objection. Rerum Novarum is an 1891 encyclical that Pope Leo XIII promulgated to a society reeling from the rapid changes brought about by the first industrial revolution, a period marred with unchecked greed, base working conditions and the encroachment of marxist and darwinist ideologies. It is regarded as the cornerstone of Catholic social teaching. Rerum Novarum affirms the rights of workers to own property and receive a living wage. It calls on the state to affirm worker’s rights, so as to yield an equal distribution of wealth, as well as support the rights of a family to govern itself autonomously. It warns of the gravity of introducing socialism to society, as this would squelch human initiative and reduce the impoverished multitudes to slaves.
Just as Pope John Paul II confronted communism and materialism, Pope Leo XIV has indicated the contemporary issues he intends to bring to the forefront of his papacy. He means to “engage in courageous and trusting dialogue with the contemporary world.”5 And so we may well soon see this pope deliver to the faithful an encyclical of his own that applies the teachings from Rerum Novarum to ethical dilemmas posed by AI and other advancements in technology. Will his efforts at dialogue come across as confrontational or engaging? Will they resonate with a society aching for moral direction? It remains to be seen.
The pope says he chose the name Leo for several reasons, but he only fleshes out one. What might another be? Pope Leo XIII is also famous for the vision he received after celebrating Mass in 1884. In the vision, he saw Lucifer tell Jesus that he could destroy the Church, he only needs time and power. Jesus grants him both. In reaction to this vision, Leo XIII wrote a prayer that solicits spiritual protection from St. Michael the Archangel, which is often prayed by a congregation following Mass. Might Leo XIV be acknowledging the great spiritual battle waging at this present moment, and signaling the means to fight it? Perhaps, as he also called for the whole body of the Church to practice forms of popular piety;6 i.e. devotions such as First Friday, First Saturday, Divine Mercy Chaplet, the rosary, etc.
Prayer, devotion, dialogue, Church teachings. This is the same formula the Church used during the 20th century to fight communism. And a formula, which, arguably, proved triumphant.
There’s a large dose of hope accompanying the installation of this new pope. Is it any accident he was elected during the Easter season?
What signs of hope do you see in Pope Leo XIV?
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Vinson Cunningham, Naomi Fry, and Alexandra Schwartz. (2025, May 15, 41:45) The Grand Spectacle of Pope Week [Audio podcast episode] In Critics at Large. New Yorker Magazine.https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/critics-at-large/the-grand-spectacle-of-pope-week.
Address of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to the College of Cardinals. Saturday, 10 May 2025. The Vatican https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/speeches/2025/may/documents/20250510-collegio-cardinalizio.html
“This Fourth Revolution; it doesn't change what you are doing, it changes YOU. If you take genetic editing, just as an example, it's YOU who are changed...it raises many ethical and legal questions and we have to be prepared for it.”
Klaus Schwab, former head of World Economic Forum, speaking to Charlie Rose in 2015.
Address of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to the College of Cardinals.
Address of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to the College of Cardinals.
Address of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV to the College of Cardinals.