A New Pope Has Been Selected

The Pope is the head of the Catholic Church. The most recent Pope, Pope Francis, passed away in April and was appreciated as a progressive entity and a genuinely decent human being by all accounts. Everyone seemed to be wondering if the new Pope would be more, "Liberal," in terms of the Catholic Church or a return to conservative-style teachings. It seemed almost nobody thought the next Pope would be an American. Well, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now known as Pope Leo XIV, is the first Pope from the United States--born in Chicago. He was announced as the, "Winner," of the secretive Conclave's votes yesterday.

Who is Pope Leo XIV? He seems like a decent enough fellow. He's apparently posted on Twitter/X before about being extremely pro-immigrant and pro-human rights, criticizing the Trump administration for how it treats non-U.S. citizens as if they were animals (his election has already enraged some American Conservatives). He has avoided outright condemning LGBTQ folks without exactly being welcoming, and obviously is anti-abortion because he's Catholic, but we'll get a pro-choice Pope around the same time bacon is considered Kosher. He wants women to be more involved in the Catholic church and his brother thinks he'll actively work to help the underprivileged. Basically, if you're Catholic, he's your new boss whether you like it or not, but this looks alright in terms of not being a shock move backwards socially/morally or much of a leap forwards into progressivism.

I'm not Catholic, only about 17.4% (1.4 billion) of the World is. Honestly, the other 82.6% of us don't have to care at all about what the Pope says or thinks, but knowing that the religious leader of over a billion people Worldwide is not a jerk does inspire some confidence regardless of one's religious affiliation or lack thereof. We will see through his future words and actions just how Leo XIV views his role in the Catholic church as well as Catholicism's role in general society. For now, at least it is funny to see right-wingers in America meltdown over a, "Woke," and, "Marxist," Pope. I don't know about you, but calling the Pope, "A Liberal," just because he actually believes in caring about others, as his religion teaches, is hilarious.