Pope Leo XIV American Pope

As a Catholic priest ministering in Latin America, I have received countless congratulations and questions about the new “American Pope.” The most common question is, “How does it feel to have your countryman as pope?” I am very happy with Pope Leo XIV, but I don’t feel a connection because we were both born in the United States of America. Coming from Chicago is certainly part of Leo XIV’s identity, but I feel quite confident that he doesn’t feel that it is primarily who he is. There are other things that make me feel a kinship with Robert Prevost much more than the fact that I was born a mere 100 miles from where he was born. Leo and I were both born in the time of Vatican II. The fact that he is six years older than I means he probably has memories of Mass in Latin, he may have even served Mass in Latin, but he grew up and was formed by the vernacular liturgy during a time of great transition in the Church. We were both born into Catholic families, Catholic on both sides and our church and its school were the center of our lives. At thirteen we went away to a high school seminary run by a religious order, he Augustinian and I Redemptorist. We both entered the Seminary during the time of Paul VI, we weren’t JPII seminarians. After novitiate and profession of first vows we both entered Catholic Theological Union and we were ordained, he in 1982 and I in 1989. After his ordination he was sent to the Augustinian Mission in Peru and I was sent to a Latino parish in Denver, Colorado. I had asked to go to our Redemptorist Mission in Brazil, but I was told that I needed to work in the United States first. In 1997, after 8 years of ordination I finally was able to go to Brazil. I only served there for 3 years whereas Leo worked in Peru for 20. Most of his priesthood was spent ministering to Latinos in Latin America, most of mine was spent ministering to Latinos in the United States. After that our lives took a significant turn; Leo was chosen for leadership in his order and eventually became bishop and cardinal. I continued to work with the Latino Community in the US and now in Mexico. There are two ways I feel the most kinship with Pope Leo is his formation and ministry to the Latino Community. We both graduated from CTU, he in 1982 and I 1989. CTU is an old hotel building on Chicago’s South side. There is no cloister or marble chapel, no seminarians in cassocks reciting prayers in Latin. CTU was begun in the spirit of Vatican II by several religious communities. Not separate from the world, rather in the midst of it. There were plenty of priests and nuns but candidates for the priesthood and lay ministers studied together. The atmosphere was fiercely anti-clerical. We understood that women couldn’t be ordained but we believed that could change. We weren’t “taught” to respect women, we just did. It was a collegial, synodal model of church. We were all working together to build up the kingdom of God. The clergy sex-abuse crisis was just just about to hit the Church. Clericalism was eroding but sexuality was still taboo. We might have been more open about our sexuality, but we had few forums for healthy discussions of sexuality. Clergy sexual abuse will remain a challenge in Leo’s pontificate. After he was ordained Leo would have learnt Spanish, and ministered in a culture and country different from his own. It is always different preaching in a second language few get to the point of having “flawless” second language skills. You have to ask more questions; you rely more on the people you minister to. Working with Latinos as a priest you never doubt the love and affection of the people, but you always know that you are an outsider, that it is their Church, their customs. If you are not humble you will never be successful ministering in another culture. Leo spoke briefly in Spanish in his opening address. He thanked the people of Chiclayo, in Peru for accompanying its Bishop and sharing their faith and giving so much. Leo most definitely didn’t go to Peru to save any “savages.” The Church in Latin America is very different from the Church in the United States and the Latino Church in the US is a blend of these two realities. Latin America is still largely Catholic. It is a Catholic milieu, there is an easy blending of faith in the public life. People live much more communally, and family ties are still strong. The term nuclear family is nonexistent. Family bonds and responsibility to one another is a given. The Church is more devotional, superstitions remain, and the Church is still very hierarchical. I have ministered in Latin America and in the US in English and Spanish. When I minister in Spanish, at 63 I am usually one of the oldest in the congregation. In English I remain one of the youngest. The Latino Church is alive and vibrant, more baptisms and first communions, whereas in English funerals are more common. There are no culture wars in the Latino Church. I would suspect a similar view amongst Latinos on issues like abortion and LGBTQ rights. But it is not divisive. Latinos’ emphasis on “the common good” led to few questioning vaccines or receiving communion in the hand. Exit polls show that 61% of white Catholics voted for Trump and amongst those who go to Mass every Sunday I am sure the percentage is higher. The number of Latino Catholics who voted for Trump was less than 50% but it still grew from the 2020 election. The white Catholic church in the United States is older and more conservative. They want to make America great again. As a group they are more inward looking and less missionary. They are quick to spout out their love for the Eucharist but complain about the accent of their new pastor from Nigeria, India or Vietnam. That Pope Leo comes from the US means little to me. The fact that he is a religious formed in a post Vatican II Church who has ministered in Latin-America means the world to me. I hope that he continues to welcome the LGBTQI community in the Church and I would like him to be more inclusive of women in ordained ministry. I pray that he continues to build a more inclusive Church where all our welcome and all voices are heard, especially those on the margins and peripheries of the Church.