“No man can be a good bishop if he loves his title but not his task.”

– Augustine of Hippo, City of God

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Rome officially has a new bishop, otherwise known as the Pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church. Pope Francis died just a few weeks ago on Easter Monday, in a slightly sudden fashion. He had been ill and unable to walk for a number of years, but his worsening condition was largely not focused on. It came to a shock to many to hear of this death, especially right after he had been involved with Easter celebrations in Rome. The Catholic Church was officially in a time of sede vacante, otherwise known as an empty seat. This period lasted only seventeen days, which was rather on par for the amount of time that it has taken for a new pope to be chosen in the past hundred years.

As of the early evening on Thursday, May 8th, the new pope was chosen and his name is Pope Leo XIV. His birth name is Robert Prevost and he is the first pope from the United States. He comes from the Order of Saint Augustine and is only sixty nine years old. He was born in Chicago, Illinois but has lived  a lot of his life in Peru. This means that he is actually a dual citizen of Peru, as he has gained citizenship from there. He knows many languages, including of course English, but also Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese, and can read Latin and German.

The conclave is not like a normal democratic election, there are no campaigns nor is there a vote among the masses. So comparing this past conclave with any normal election requires a lot of nuance. Nevertheless, it appears to many that his name came out of left field. For those of us who are not cardinals, we were expecting other names to be more likely. Liberal Catholics hoped for someone like Cardinal Luis Tagle from the Philippines. He is from the third world, liberal on social issues, and would have been likely to continue Pope Francis’ legacy and then some. On the other hand, conservatives hoped for someone like Cardinal Péter Erdő, the archbishop of Budapest, Hungary. I think a lot can be said from the fact that they ended up with someone fairly unknown and someone known for being a centrist. As mentioned earlier, when talking about being more liberal or more conservative, there is an important distinction to be made between one’s theological views and one’s political views. A cardinal and even a pope may be more liberal politically, while still being very conservative theologically. At any rate, Cardinal Robert Prevost was made a cardinal in only 2023 by the late Pope Francis and was also made the prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America at the same time.

Before we continue, it would be prudent to pause to even explain why the author is discussing the new pope or why it even matters. We at Being Kindled are very much protestants, protestants with more or less Reformed tendencies and a very evangelical view of the Bible. That being said, we have found ourselves becoming more and more sympathetic to Rome and to her church. The Catholics may be wrong about a lot of things, but their beautiful traditions should be respected. We also find that given that we all affirm the creeds and agree on the trinity, we have the very fundamentals of the Christian faith in common. Given this information, it is not the author’s intention to bash Rome nor to suck up to them. The history of the Catholic Church as humanity’s oldest earthly institution deserves a heck of a lot of respect. It is worth talking about the new pope because he will have an impact on all of us now, and in the decades to come. Respect and adoration will be given when appropriate, but there will be no sucking up, as we have no plans to paddle across the Tiber any time soon. With this little caveat out of the way, it’s time to discuss what this decision says about the trajectory of the Catholic Church and the church in general.

Pope Leo XIV, like many popes before him, is a unique character with an interesting history. And it is this history that probably landed him the job. It was always thought that there could not be a pope from America because that would give too much power and influence to a country that already has a ton of sway on the world stage. Given that the new pope spent so much of his career in Latin America, he is clearly not the most red blooded American, but rather someone who can sympathize with those in poverty and from the poorer areas of the world. A vast majority of the popes have been from Italy, it has only been since Pope John Paul II in the seventies that Rome has branched out in recent times. It is also interesting to note that the current pope, as well as the last pope are the first from the western hemisphere. Which on paper seems unique, but both of them also have Italian ancestry. Pope Francis being directly descended from Italian immigrants to Argentina. All that to say that they still have not strayed all that far from the peninsula.

Pope Francis was a choice that showed a church wanting change. He was the first Jesuit pope and even picked the name Francis, which had never been used previously. Pope Francis also refused to wear that traditional mozzetta upon his first appearance as pope on the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica. Love him or hate him, Pope Francis was a change in the Catholic Church’s trajectory. He represented modernity and a lack of clarity. It was often hard to figure out what his statements on matters actually met. Catholic hardlines have been trying their best to stay faithful, while having to run defense for what the pope had said. Often, when Francis would release statements, he would make issues significantly more confused. For example, the whole drama around the blessing of same sex unions. It ended up not amounting to any big change, but is astonishing how long it took for that to finally be realized.

One of the benefits of having an Augstinian pope may well be clarity. There is a case to be made that as the new pope learned and taught canon law, he will likely not make such obfuscated statements as his predecessor. For the sake of the brothers in Rome, it would be less of a headache if the laymen would be able to easily understand their head bishop.

Who the cardinals picked can tell us a lot about how the higher ups in the Catholic Church are thinking, but arguably even more can be learned about who they did not pick. They did not pick a firebrand, they did not pick someone extremely liberal or conservative. The most basic pick for them might have been a moderate Italian, but a moderate American who spent much of their time in South America and has Italian ancestry is a pretty close second. This author would contend that this is a good mark of the vibe with the cardinals of the church. Back in 2013 the Church wanted change and they wanted someone who could lead the church into a new age. A decade after the fact, and they do not look as confident. In this author’s opinion, they seem a little skittish and worried.

It’s a widely known fact that the church generally, as well as the Catholic Church, is not in the healthiest state it has ever been in. The number of Catholics is dropping fast in Latin America and is not particularly increasing in any significant number in any other parts of the world. Truthfully, their only real reason for growth is due to births of existing Catholics, conversions and adults becoming Catholic is still far less common than the likelihood of an adult Catholic leaving the faith. To be far, the protestant and evangelical world is not doing much better, although we are not hemorrhaging people as bad as the Catholics. This fact was probably not as clear a decade ago when Pope Francis was being picked. It would seem that instead of trying to steer any future trends, the cardinals would like their church to relax and see where the wind is blowing. It appears that Pope Leo XIV was good friends with Pope Francis and will likely continue a lot of what he started, although with less vigor and at a much slower pace.

Unfortunately, the vibe in Rome is not exclusive to Rome. As much as they have no appetite to set the pace and step up as cultural leaders, we have little desire to do it either. Especially in Western Europe and America, protestants are woefully underrepresented in politics, culture, institutions, or in anything else that actually matters. We are becoming increasingly irrelevant as the years go by and we do not seem to want to change it. It is possible that the Catholics are also heading in this direction, that is waiting to see where the wind is blowing and responding with the least offensive response possible.

It is not the goal of this author to project unto the outcome of the conclave, but there is an important question to be answered; why did they pick Robert Prevost? He is clearly not a horrible choice, but at least based on what is known now, he is a very inoffensive choice. He has enough accolades to satisfy all sides of the Catholic Church. That being said, this author is choosing to be cautiously optimistic and hopes that the reader would be as well. An American pope is, all other things aside, cool and certainly a boon for the country. While we at Being Kindled find the claim of the Catholic Church being the one, true, and apostolic church outside of which there is no salvation laughably silly, we still love and respect our Roman brothers and sisters. Therefore, just as with any leader of a church or a nation, we will be praying for Pope Leo XIV and we trust that good will do His will through the new pope, either with or in spite of him. Let us all pray that by the time of the next conclave, the Catholic Church is in a better position than it is in now.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. – 1 Timothy 2:1-2 (KJV)

And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding. – Daniel 2:21 (KJV)