By Alvise Armellini and Philip Pullella
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – With the world still wondering how the fledgling papacy of Leo XIV will take wing, cardinals and other clerics gave glimpses into his background and his views on social issues on Friday, while carefully maintaining the secrecy of the conclave.
German Cardinal Reinhard Marx said that Robert Prevost, elected pope on Thursday, had a breadth of experience, cultural knowledge and language skills from his time in the U.S. and Peru that made him a good fit for the role.
“That convinced me to say that this could be a possibility. That’s why I’m very happy in the end, I can tell you,” Marx told reporters.
Born in Chicago, Prevost worked for decades in Peru and is a dual U.S.-Peruvian citizen. Besides English and Spanish, he also speaks French, Italian, a bit of German and understands Latin.
“He spoke his first word on peace. I think that was an important word, which he made clear once again,” Marx added, referring to comments the new pope made from St. Peter’s Basilica on Thursday.
The German cardinal said Leo would continue to speak out against conflict and violence, following the example of Pope Francis.
“There has to be another voice, and I think that’s what is expected,” he added.
President Donald Trump hailed the appointment of the first U.S. pope, but social media posts show that Leo challenged U.S. policies on issues such as migration when he was a cardinal.
“As the pope, he certainly won’t want to provoke there, in that direction,” Marx said, referring to relations with Trump, but adding that Leo would be prepared to take a stand when necessary.
A senior member of Prevost’s Augustinian religious order said he thought the new pope would be less impulsive than his predecessor Francis, who had a reputation for forthright, off-the-cuff comments.
“Pope Francis would speak what was on his mind immediately. I think what we’ll see with Pope Leo is a man who wants to think first and process what is the message he wants to deliver. And then deliver it,” Rev. Joseph Farrell, Vicar General of the Order of St. Augustine, told Reuters in an interview.
“I think that’s an attractive aspect of somebody who’s going to be in leadership and servant leadership in the church,” said Farrell, who is not a cardinal and was not in the conclave.
MESSAGE IN A NAME
Farrell has known the pope since the mid-1980s and last saw him for lunch on Tuesday, the day before the 133 cardinal electors locked themselves in the Sistine Chapel for the secret conclave election.
Prevost had been touted in the media as a possible candidate for the papacy, albeit not a frontrunner.
“We asked him, you know, how are you doing with all of this? He said, well, to be honest, I’m not sleeping as well as I used to,” Farrell said, adding that the future pontiff prayed with his Augustinian brothers and felt “a little emotional”.
The most important decision a new pope has to make is what they should be called, and Prevost gave an important indication of his priorities when he opted for Leo.
“His name is his programme,” said Serbian Cardinal Ladislav Nemet, archbishop of Belgrade, who dined with the new pope on Thursday night.
The last pope to take the name Leo, Leo XIII, focused much of his 1878-1903 papacy on advocating for the rights of workers, calling for better pay, fair working conditions, and the right to join unions.
Nemet told HRT Croatian Radio and Television that the subject of the name came up at the dinner conversation that he and other cardinals had with the new pope.
“And it’s very interesting, he said he wants to give more attention to issues of social order in the world, like issues of justice,” Nemet told an HRT correspondent, who provided Reuters with a transcript of his comments.
“(The pope) also said that we are inside a new revolution: in Leo XIII’s time there was an industrial revolution going on, now there is a digital revolution going on.
“Today, as in Leo XIII’s time, there is the problem of jobs, because digitisation leads to a decrease in labour needed for work,” Nemet said.
(Additional reporting by Miranda Murray in Berlin; Writing by Keith Weir; Editing by Crispian Balmer and Alex Richardson)
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