When Cardinal Robert Prevost faced the world from Vatican City on Thursday following his surprise election as the first-ever American Pope, conservative and traditionalist Catholics clung to one thing they knew about him that gave them hope he might be different from his late predecessor Pope Francis: the name by which he chose to be known, Leo XIV.
For the most part, there was initially deep concern and worry on the part of Catholics on the right. These stem from reports of the new Pope’s history on X, which include numerous condemnations of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance on the issue of illegal immigration, his Francis-like support of climate change, and his invoking of the name of Francis in his opening remarks at the Sistine Chapel.
But Prevost’s choice of Leo is a sign of cautious optimism among Catholics who clashed with Francis.
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