USA Today reports that Pope Leo XIV formally assumed his role as the first American-born leader of the global Catholic Church with a Mass in St. Peter’s Square in Rome drawing tens of thousands of people, including dozens of world leaders and European royalty.
Pope Leo spoke with Vance and Rubio with just a handshake in line on the fringes of the inauguration ceremony. Before his election, Leo repeatedly criticized the Trump administration’s mass deportation policy on social media and butted heads with Vance.
In his first week in the job, Leo has signaled that he intends to put peace at the center of his pontificate, saying that “it is the peacemakers that make history.” His first words in St. Peter’s Square on the night of his election were “Peace be with you all” and he has offered the Vatican as a mediator in global conflicts, saying war is “never inevitable.” – Politico
In his homily, Leo outlined his priorities, calling for “a reconciled world in a time when “we still see too much discord, too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference, and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.”
He called on Christians to unite with other religions and “all people of good will, in order to build a new world where peace reigns.” The Guardian
The new pope seems to be speaking of one inclusive feature of the church in the future when he speaks of migration and one traditional feature of the church when he defines the family and the position on the unborn.
