In an article published by the New York Times, TCA Senior Fellow Ashley McGuire speculates on the implications of newly elected Robert Prevost choosing “Leo” as his papal title – Pope Leo XIV – and what this choice could mean for the Church in regard to the future pope’s focus and leadership style. She comments in the article titled, “Robert Francis Prevost, Now Leo XIV, Is First American Pope:”
“American Catholics across the political spectrum are citing Pope Leo XIV’s choice of name as a sign that he may advance their interests, and sharing their own interpretations of Pope XIII’s 19th-century pontificate. ‘By picking the name Leo XIV, he shows he is committed to the social teaching of the church,’ said Thomas J. Reese, a Jesuit priest and veteran Vatican analyst.
More conservative Catholics see a different implication. ‘He takes his name from a pope who stood firmly against the negative culture of moral relativism,’ said Ashley McGuire, senior fellow with The Catholic Association.”
