LILLEY: Pope Leo's politics noteworthy, but political popes not new
Pope Leo has criticized Donald Trump in the past, but his politics will probably annoy all sides as he leads the Church going forward
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The white smoke was the sign that a new Pope had been selected. Then the glorious words announced from the balcony in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican, “Habemus Papam,” or we have a Pope.
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Immediately the question is who is the new Pope, this man we will now call Leo XIV?
Robert Prevost, 69, will become the first American Pope, the first person to sit in the chair of St. Peter who comes from North America. It was a stunning outcome; one few would have predicted and, of course, it all turned political fairly quickly.
It seems Pope Leo has been critical of Donald Trump’s policies in the past, in particular on immigration. If President Trump knew that, it didn’t show up in his social media post congratulating Prevost.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope. What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment!”