The New Pope Through a Political Lens

There’s a remarkable passage in the first chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, that book in the Bible that recounts Christianity’s first years, in which the apostles were gathered in a room with Jesus after his resurrection. They asked him: “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

Why remarkable? Because after spending three years with Jesus, the apostles still seemed to misunderstand his mission. Jews of Jesus’ time had for over 60 years been chafing under the rule of the Romans, whose pagan culture clashed with Jewish dogma and practice. Many in Jesus’ time believed the Messiah would restore the Kingdom by driving out the Romans, and the apostles – even after following Jesus and listening to many sermons and seeing many miracles – were no exceptions.

Jesus didn’t answer their question directly, except to say that only his Father knew what was in store for them, and for the world, and that they would better understand his mission once they had received the Holy Spirit.

Many Commentaries

I thought of this scene while reading and viewing the many commentaries about the election of Leo XIV, the Chicago-born priest who has become the successor to Pope Francis. Commentators, from the political left and right, seemed unable to view the events surrounding the papal election except through the lens of politics – American and global politics and the “politics” of the American Catholic Church.

The media, as is its mission, is looking into every aspect of the new pope’s life. And there is a lot of attention to the 20 years the new pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, spent in Peru, as a missionary priest and then bishop of Chiclayo. Some see it as a sign that he will be dedicated to the poor and people in “the third world.” Others as a sign that he is leftist – as one conservative commentator put it – “totally Marxist.”

Indeed, much of what has been written and broadcast about the new pope has been through the lens of politics, and that lens is broad, encompassing nearly every aspect of the new Pope’s life and beliefs.

I think people have to ask themselves why Prevost, and other missionaries, go to countries like Peru. Although they almost always help people with what they need to live, their main job is to help people – many of whom have been deprived of help in their spiritual lives – get closer to God. They are heeding Matthew’s gospel. When John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus whether he was the Messiah, Jesus responded by listing his deeds, then saying, “and the poor have the good news preached to them.”

The gospel compels Christians to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty and welcome the stranger. But Jesus’ mission, in my view, was principally about bringing people closer to his Father and I believe that’s what Leo was doing in Peru.

I know that people who are into politics may view this idea as naïve. But having been among those who did what Prevost did in Latin America, I can assure you that – with some exceptions – most missionaries view their first task as doing what Jesus did, bringing people to the Father. All of the activities in which he engaged – curing diseases, turning water into wine, multiplying loaves and fishes – were part of his larger mission of bringing people to God.  

Not About Politics

Despite all that has been written and said in the media about the new Pope, his election is not about politics. And the people who allow their politics to determine their religious views, instead of the other way around, will probably not be happy with Leo, as they increasingly were not with Pope Francis.

Writing recently in the New York Times, Sam Sawyer, a Jesuit priest and editor of America Magazine, says seeing Pope Leo’s positions on issues through a political lens is doomed to misunderstanding. The two popes’ positions on such issues as immigration and abortion don’t reflect liberalism or conservatism, Democrat or Republican values, but their reading of the Gospel.

“I expect American Catholics will feel torn between a natural affinity for a native son and a frustration as his moral teachings contrast with their own views,” wrote Sawyer. “…Even though American Catholics remained largely positive about Francis, over the course of his papacy their attitudes toward him started to mirror their political identities.” As his criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration and other policies became more pronounced … the share of right-leaning American Catholics with an unfavorable opinion of him shot up from 2 percent in 2013 to 35 percent in 2024.”