Headline Roundup • May 8th, 2025
How Will Pope Leo XIV Lead?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Cardinal Robert Prevost of Chicago was elected Pope on Thursday, selecting the name Leo XIV.
Initial Reactions: Outlets on the left and right noted his socially progressive leanings. His social media featured criticisms of President Donald Trump and JD Vance on immigration policy and scripture interpretations. Overall, he's seen as a centrist within the faith.
Where Does He Stand? While Pope Francis was critical of countries that criminalized homosexuality, Pope Leo said there needed to be discussion on how to apply blessings in a way that aligned across cultural differences, including cultures that criminalize homosexuality. When asked about increasing LGBTQ+ representation in culture, he objected to “sympathy for beliefs and practices that contradict the gospel.” Like Pope Francis, he is a strong supporter of immigrants and compassion for the planet amid climate change. He has said women contribute “a great deal to the life of the Church,” but he opposes their ordination, also in alignment with Francis' views.
What Does Leo Represent? In the Telegraph (Lean Right bias) a writer said, “His choice of name places him as a fierce defender of the independence of the Church in opposition to the secular world, following the tradition of Leo the Great, who miraculously saved ancient Rome from Attila the Hun,” adding that he represents “certainty.” An UnHerd (Center) writer said, “Pope Leo XIV’s choice of name says far more about where his heart lies than this or that Twitter post. In a 21st century that starkly resembles the 19th — not least in its eye-watering material inequalities and the overweening power of some few tyrannical CEOs — the Church now has a universal pastor who is clearly in love with the Leonine tradition and bent on renewing Catholic Social Teaching for the New Things of our time.”
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Featured Coverage of this Story
White smoke emerged from the Sistine Chapel Thursday afternoon after a short two-day deliberation, and onlookers watched while Robert Prevost, the first American pope in history, walked across the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica in a white cassock.
More than 100 cardinals gathered to elect Pope Leo XIV as the new leader of the Catholic Church, ushering in a transformative era for the religious institution that will be distinct from its direction under Pope Francis.
They said it would never happen: an American pope, let alone an American pope while Donald Trump is president of the United States. But the Lord works in mysterious ways. On Thursday, Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago made history after his fellow cardinals elected him the 267th successor of Saint Peter.
Yet just as meaningful as his US background is the new pontiff’s choice of name: Leo XIV.
The last time the Roman church had a Leo pope, it was Leo XIII in the late 19th century. The fourth-longest reigning...
The Telegraph
There is no more crushing burden in this life than to be elected as the Vicar of Christ. Yet Pope Leo XIV greeted the watching world with unfeigned joy, as if relishing the near-impossible mission of leading 1.4 billion Catholics and offering the rest of the world an example of Christian evangelism and sacrifice.
The new Pope is not only the first American to be elected, but his choice of name places him as a fierce defender of the independence of the Church in opposition to the secular world, following the...
