Two days after the College of Cardinals gathered to elect a new pope, a decision has been made. Robert Prevost has been chosen, becoming the first American pope in history. He’s adopted the name Pope Leo XIV.
Leo’s ascension to the papacy comes after Pope Francis, a relatively progressive pope when it comes to LGBTQ+ rights, died last month.
The new pope is from Chicago and is 69. He earned an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Villanova University in Pennsylvania, then received a diploma in theology at the Catholic Theological Union of Chicago.
He previously served as a Catholic missionary in South America, CNN reports. He worked in Trujillo, Peru, for about 10 years and then served as bishop of the Peruvian city of Chiclayo from 2014 until 2023.
The outlet states that many believe Leo will continue many of Francis’s reforms.
In his first speech as pope, Leo said, “We have to seek together to be a missionary church. A church that builds bridges and dialogue.”
The new pontiff also honored his predecessor.
“Let us keep in our ears the weak voice of Pope Francis that blesses Rome. The Pope who blessed Rome, gave his blessing to the entire world that morning of Easter. Allow me to follow up on that blessing. God loves us. God loves everyone. Evil will not prevail.”
While he honored Francis, there are some questions about his support of LGBTQ+ rights. Francis made several pro-LGBTQ+ reforms during his papacy. But the new pope has made some anti-LGBTQ+ statements. In 2012, at a meeting of bishops, “he lamented that Western news media and popular culture fostered ‘sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,’” The New York Times reports. He specifically mentioned the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.” As bishop of Chiclayo, Peru, he objected to a plan to teach about gender in schools, saying, “The promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist.”
However, “he has voiced compassion for the LGBTQ community,” according to the Meidas Touch Network. But “while he may foster a more welcoming environment, he has not signaled any openness to changing Church teaching on same-sex marriage or the ordination of women,” Meidas Touch reports.
LGBTQ+ advocacy group GLAAD said it looked forward to working with Leo. The group had previously met with Francis to discuss LGBTQ+ rights.
“The Roman Catholic Church stands on the threshold of a hopeful and inclusive new chapter. With Pope Leo XIV’s leadership, there is an extraordinary opportunity to inspire billions around the world and further embrace LGBTQ people with compassion, dignity, and love,” GLAAD’s CEO and president Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement provided to The Advocate. “He can build on the progress already made and help create a Church that truly reflects the universal message of acceptance and care for all. We are hopeful to collaborate with Pope Leo, just as we did with Pope Francis, to help ensure the Church continues to grow as a welcoming home for everyone.”
Francis DeBernardo, executive director of New Ways Ministry, which works for LGBTQ+ equality in the Catholic Church, released a statement saying it was “disappointing” to hear of the new pope’s 2012 anti-LGBTQ+ comment. “We pray that in the 13 years that have passed, 12 of which were under the papacy of Pope Francis, that his heart and mind have developed more progressively on LGBTQ+ issues, and we will take a wait-and-see attitude to see if that has happened,” DeBernardo added.
“We pray that as our church transitions from 12 years of an historic papacy, Pope Leo XIV will continue the welcome and outreach to LGBTQ+ people which Pope Francis inaugurated,” he continued. “The healing that began with Who am I to judge? needs to continue and grow to ‘Who am I, if not a friend to LGBTQ+ people?'”
DignityUSA, another LGBTQ+ Catholic group, issued a press release saying in part, “We note that this [2012] statement was made during the papacy of Benedict XVI, when doctrinal adherence appeared to be expected. In addition, the voices of LGBTQ people were rarely heard at that level of church leadership. We pray that Pope Leo XIV will demonstrate a willingness to listen and grow as he begins his new role as the leader of the global Church.”
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Trudy Ring contributed reporting.
