Following the death of Pope Francis, 69-year-old Robert Francis Prevost has been chosen as the new Pope by a conclave of Cardinals on May 8, making him the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State.
Indeed, given the mass popularity of Pope Francis, the Cardinals had a difficult choice to make while electing his successor, and it seems they have performed the task well. One might recall that Francis had inherited a Vatican in crisis, scandals of sexual abuse and financial misconduct being some of the serious charges against the papal establishment.
Francis acted quickly to revert the Catholic church to its good name, acting against abusive priests and overhauling the Vatican bank, but he could not quite complete the job he had been mandated to do due to the strong resistance from powerful opponents to his reformist stance from within and without.
It would be interesting to observe whether the new Pope, who has taken on the name Leo XIV, would be able to step into Francis' shoes and carry on the reforms. He certainly has time on his side, his relatively young age giving him the leeway, but whether he has the desire to do so will be revealed only in the coming years. However, Prevost's choice of the name Leo perhaps gives us a hint of his intentions.
Historically, Popes with the name Leo had been socially committed: Leo I, the first of these, who headed the Catholic Church between 440 and 461 AD, was known for his commitment to peace. The last Pope to choose the name Leo before Prevost, Leo XIII, too was reputed for his dedication to social policies and social justice. Observers, therefore, expect the new Pope to live up to his name and display the liberalism that had marked the tenure of Francis.
A United States citizen and a naturalised citizen of Peru, Leo XIV is the first Pope from North America and the first from Peru; he has a track record of zealously performing his duties in both countries.
Especially during his stint in Peru, which imbued him with personally experienced knowledge of violence and inequality, he was known for his missionary zeal while riding on horseback to remote and inaccessible places. That he had not hesitated to speak out against the violence of the Marxist-Leninist-Maoist guerrilla organisation Shining Path marked him out as a fearless spokesman against those who abuse human rights.
Ironically, despite being an American, he has emerged as an anathema to the MAGA supporters of Donald Trump, who castigate him for his liberalism and brand him as a "Woke!"
It is to be hoped that, in an increasingly violence-ridden world, Pope Leo XIV would emerge as a voice of sanity and conscience keeper of the Christian community.