May 11, 2025 • 21 mins
In the news this week: Pope Leo XIV, or Papa León 14, has been selected to lead the Catholic Church and its 1.4 billion congregation worldwide. And on his first moment in a global spotlight, he chose to speak… Spanish.
Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago but spent most of his life as a missionary and bishop in Peru, where he has citizenship. He’s the first-ever pope from the U.S. and the second from the Americas, which made him an unexpected choice.
Chicago is claiming him, of course, but to Peruvians and Peruvian-Americans, he’s Peruvian. Period. Listen to the latest with reactions from our listeners.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Se permitten tambien on salulo atolos sakeos in allo particular
amiquerida dis is that chiclaio and at peru.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
The Catholic Church, dear listener, has a new leader. His
name is Pope Leo the fourteenth, and yes he speaks Spanish.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Donte un pueblo fell campagnado, aspo a compartidoe yadado, tanto
tanto segir siendo Igleafel Cristo.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Papaleon is the first ever pope from the United States.
So when he addressed the massive crowd in Vatican City
a few days ago, he spoke in Italian, as all
popes do, but unlike most of them, he all so
spoke in Espanol. From fludro media and pr X, it's
(01:08):
Latino Usa, I'm Mariano Rosa. Today the unexpected pick of
an American pope.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Becose.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
It is certainly it looks like white smoke.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
That means there is a cardinal who.
Speaker 5 (01:33):
Is now a pope, A Sir Gaudi Manu ma'am our
babu spa ma'am.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
On May eighth, in Vatican City, the second pope from
the Americas emerged on the balcony at Saint Peter's Basilica and.
Speaker 6 (01:57):
Where history has been made. Today with the election of
sixty nine year old Robert Francis Prevost born in Chicago,
he has chosen the papal name Leo the fourteenth.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
The new pope wore a gold cross around his neck
and a burgundy stole over his shoulders, keeping with the
church traditions.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Bat jsia ponto tivoy.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Peace be with you all were his first words as
the new leader of the more than one billion Catholics
around the globe.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Telly sore le carrissimi quest so el primo, saluto del
cristo resorto.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo the fourteenth is from Chicago,
my hometown where, well, understatement, people are pretty thrilled.
Speaker 7 (02:50):
David, I can almost feel the vibration of Catholics in
Chicago's celebrating this moment right now, two point one million
Catholics in the Chicago area, many of whom speak Spanish
and English.
Speaker 8 (03:01):
It just makes me proud of you in Chicago and
makes me proud you have the first American Bob.
Speaker 9 (03:07):
It's Tom fer.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Territorial quiabla de supropia.
Speaker 9 (03:22):
Achos no solo.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I immediately posted on social media Southsider or North Sider,
Cubs or socks, deep dish or thin crust, Portillo's hot
dogs or burgers, Mexican Spanish or Peruvian Spanish. These are
the burning questions that my fellow Chicagoans want to know
about the new pope. And it turns out that the
new pope is a Sox fan. His brother John Prevost
(03:48):
confirmed it.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
He was never ever a Cubs fan, so I don't
know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan,
so I don't know where that all came from.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
We don't know what Pope Leo's ring is going to
look like, but we can lean clues from what we
know of his past, like his criticism of President Trump's
policies on immigration and most recently, of Vice President JD. Vance.
Speaker 6 (04:10):
On his social media account, he reposted criticism of JD
Vance's interpretation of the Gospel. He also retweeted a post
of an op ed that was critical of Donald Trump's
deportation policies, an op ed that read, in part quote,
is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
After the Pope's appointment. His brother gave more hints in
an interview with Unibishun.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I kind of think you will see a continuation of
Pope Francis. I think he's concerned with people, with their souls,
with their spirituality. You'll see looking for help for the poor,
the downtrodden, the ones who are kind of ignored in life.
(04:57):
He spent so much time in the missions in Peru,
and I think that's where his heart is.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Robert Francis Prevost spent decades serving in Peru, and well,
I don't know if you know this, but Peruvians rep
all things Peru pretty hard. So in Peru and here
in the US, they are celebrating papalon as one of
their own. And honestly, he kind of is. Because the
(05:24):
new Pope has Peruvian citizenship.
Speaker 8 (05:26):
You begin to google him, who is he, Where was
this church? How long are he being there? And you know, like,
the new Pope is Peruvian. And even though I'm not Catholic,
it is a little bit of sense of pride that
the Catholic Church is being led by someone to go
to my rooms.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Peruvians shared their thoughts of immense pride to see someone
recognize their country and Latin America on a global stage.
Speaker 10 (05:52):
Ca yemo parans and no sunne infe in recortan American
munduandi Peru.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
And then there was that moment where, honestly my jaw
dropped when the new Pope standing at the Vatican mentioned Chiclayo,
a city in northern Peru where he served as.
Speaker 11 (06:27):
Bishop represent Us and Peruano Lao Bargieno Lanco Marina.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
And then, of course there's the fact that the new
Pope is a Spanish speaker, as we heard at the
top of the show, something that is not lost across
Latin America.
Speaker 9 (06:56):
It was very important for me to see a pope
who is American, who was born in Chicago address his
followers in the world in Spanish and thanking Peru. So
I think that he sends a very strong message not
(07:16):
speaking English but chose to speak Spanish on his first attress.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
In his first speech, he decided to forego his native
English and speak in Italian and Spanish.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Only there's like a micro significance and a macro significance.
Like the micro one is that he is very he
loves Peru very much. But I think on a larger
scale it's a sign of the reality of Roman Catholicism
in the United States.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
That's feminist theologian Natalia Imparatory Lee. We had her on
our show just a week ago to talk about the
impact and legacy as well as the shortcomings of the
former Pope, Papa Francisco of Argentina. Our managing editor Fernanda
spoke to her then, and then the two of them
spoke again right after the news about the new pope broke.
(08:06):
They're going to break it all down for us after
the break, so stay with us. Not by yes, hey,
we're back. Here's the conversation between Latino USA managing editor
(08:31):
Fernanda Echavarri and Natalia Imparatory Lee, feminist theologian and author
of Women and the Church.
Speaker 12 (08:42):
So hello again. I did not think I was going
to be speaking to you this soon.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Crazy right, What a crazy week.
Speaker 12 (08:51):
You and I spoke when Pope Francis passed, and now
here we are because we did not expect to have
an American and when we say American, it's not just
from the US, but from the American continent, including Latin America.
And when we spoke last time, at no point did
you even joke like it would be wild if it
was somebody from the US, like that is how wild
(09:13):
this card is.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
That's exactly right because he's an American, he's from the
United States. But also he's not totally He's definitely not
part of that kind of powerful US hierarchy that you
hear about. He's part of the Peruvian hierarchy. So there's
a lot of Peru going on with this.
Speaker 12 (09:31):
Pope, a lot of Peru going on. We already saw
the memes in there, like just a chef's kiss. But first,
you and I are speaking just hours after the news broke,
So what were your immediate reactions.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
I was in my office meeting with a student and
creating final papers, and I had the chimney on because
obviously you keep it on just in case, and all
of a sudden there was white smoke, and I completely
freaked out. And then we heard it was an American,
and then I freaked out parentheses derodatory. And then I
heard who it was, and then I freaked out parentheses
cautiously optimistic. So when they said it was an American,
(10:07):
that was a huge surprise. When you think of the
American bishops, cardinals who are potential popes. You know, many
of them are very closely aligned with the government, and
it was a little bit scary. But this guy is
definitely an outsider.
Speaker 12 (10:22):
I know, We've said it, and I keep seeing it also,
like this is historic, this is unexpected. Some of the
life coverage was like my jaw is on the ground,
like I can't believe this. And when I emailed you,
you responded in all caps like that you were shocked, right.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Yeah, nobody expected two popes from the American continent. Two
popes from the America's back to back signals a kind
of shift from a primarily European, culturally European church to
a far more global reality. It's a good sign for
the church in America broadly understood, and it's a good
(10:56):
sign for the global church as well, because he is
reiterating this idea that America is Alaska to Tierra del Fuego,
all of that is America, and this pope is also
that kind of an American. So, yes, he was born
in Chicago, but he lived and served in Peru. He
is a Peruvian bishop, He's a naturalized citizen of Peru.
(11:19):
Sola Papa are both Peruvian.
Speaker 12 (11:23):
El Papa and so Before we get more into who
will be Pope Leo the fourteenth, let's begin with who
was Cardinal Robert Privost? What can you tell us about him?
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Cardinal Provost was a man who was working in the Vatican.
Pope Francis brought him to the Vatican to be the
man who advised him on who to name as a bishop.
He is an Augustinian priest, so he's a religious order priest.
The Augustinians are a missionary order. They have a lot
of presence in Latin America and in other mission territories.
(11:59):
So he served in U, and he served with a
very poor, very marginalized population, and that really shaped his
ministry and his understanding of the priesthood. He eventually became
a bishop in Peru, and to do that you have
to be a Peruvian citizen, which is an important sort
of concession in a very colonizing church, to say, instead
(12:23):
of bishops from other countries, you have to be from here.
You have to be a citizen of here to be
a bishop. And so he's a bishop who was born
in the US, but he is a bishop of Peru.
Speaker 12 (12:36):
That speaks so much of what in this show we
talk about all the time is where you belong, where
you are from, what is home? What is your language?
What is your citizenship? Some of that stuff on paper
can be one thing, but in reality, like it's so
much more complex, isn't it so much more complex?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
What it means to be hen tepuente, what it means
to be Latino? What does that even look like? If
you've got one foot over there and on foot over here,
or your heart over there, but your body is here.
And he, I think, is showing us that from the
US side. Right, here's a Chicago kid, but he has
Peruvian citizenship because that was the church that he was
sent to and that he wanted to minister to and
(13:16):
that he fell in love with.
Speaker 12 (13:18):
In Chicago, folks are claiming him as one of their own,
like he's from here. And then you have people in
New Orleans now who are also saying, you know, his
parents had roots here, so they're also finding connections to him.
And of course you have the Peruvian connection, which has
gotten a big response already. We have some voicemails from
(13:40):
folks who called in and told us their thoughts.
Speaker 13 (13:43):
Condole n Espanol inclusive velospor sevan and we were momento
se mos is okay dematos atorus ispano.
Speaker 14 (13:55):
Parlamdi elai suna bendisios a elespiritu santoo tieno is a
consider the massil important continent Imbri leonficao ye to former Derava.
Speaker 12 (14:26):
As we know, every pope chooses a name to go by.
What can you tell me about the choosing of his name.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
Yes, so he chose Leo as his name, and Leo
the thirteenth is Leon. Really he's a lion of Catholic
social teaching. He basically ushered in the Catholic social doctrine
that we understand today. So the idea of the dignity
of every human being, the idea of the dignity of work,
(14:51):
all of those things were ushered in by Leo the thirteenth.
And one of the things that that Leo, his predecessor
Leo was addressing was the industrial revolution. So at a
time when the industrial revolution is really transforming the world
and transforming people's lives to the detriment in many ways,
Leo thirteenth was a strong voice for workers' rights, for
(15:13):
labor organizing, and for dignified work for people. And it's
a I think an important sign that this Leo, this
American Leo, is taking that name, indicating to me at
least that he wants to continue that strong voice for
social justice.
Speaker 12 (15:33):
So here we are with somebody who was chosen to
follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who was much
more progressive and sort of to the left of where
the church had been. However, my understanding from what I'm
reading is that he is more moderate than Pope France's. Right,
So what can we expect from him now that he's
been chosen to leave the Catholic Church and it's one
(15:54):
point four billion followers.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
Well, the truth is, we have no idea, and anyone
who tells you that they know what kind of pope
he's going to be is not telling you the truth
because we don't know. It changes a man, I think,
to become the pope. And maybe he is more moderate.
He has a different personality. I think you could tell
that almost immediately from his appearance on the balcony. Right,
he seems more introverted than Fancisco was, And that's okay,
(16:19):
But he echoed a lot about Pope Francis in his
remarks from the balcony, So I don't think that it's
going to be like a radical change. I just think
we're going to get a lot of the same priorities,
but in a different style.
Speaker 12 (16:31):
But there is not necessarily the warmest welcome, perhaps by
some in the LGBTQ community, because before he was Popolo
hadn't been as supportive as Pope Francis. Is that is
that right.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
The remarks that people are talking about were from twenty twelve.
Speaker 15 (16:46):
Twenty twelve, the now Holy Father spoke about how the
Western news media has fostered sympathy for beliefs on odds
with the Gospel, including the quote homosexual lifestyle and quote
alternative families comprised of same sex parts and their adopted children.
He has, though in the past, supported to Pope Francis's
general aim to make the church more inclusive.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
There's a lot that we don't know about his personal views,
especially LGBTQ issues. But I feel like the change that
we're starting to see in the church is that that
pastoral instinct, the instinct to minister to real people instead
of dealing in these doctrinal, abstract things, will start to
sort of change the way that the church speaks about
(17:33):
the LGBTQ community. By centering the fact that these are
human beings with dignity first, and I think that for
a lot of gay Catholics and lesbian Catholics and transgender Catholics,
that is a really welcome change that they would like
to hear from every pope from now on.
Speaker 12 (17:49):
And also one of the things that I heard was
that he also wasn't us forward in responding to the
child sexual abuse pattern in the Catholic Church. So what
can you tell me about that?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
On the sex abuse stuff? The reports that I've seen
were that he was in line with Vatican directives. That
can be good or it can be bad. A lot
of us feel like the Vatican didn't go far enough
until Francis, and so maybe he didn't go far enough.
That's entirely possible. But I don't want us to make
(18:22):
a judgment about the kind of pope this guy is
going to be in the first five hours of his papacy,
because we genuinely don't know.
Speaker 12 (18:34):
So he's representing the United States. What's the larger significance
of this.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
I think that the presence of the American political climate
and the sort of turmoil that that's causing on the
global stage. I do think that the election of Pope
Leo the fourteenth is a bit of a response to that.
I think that they chose an American that would show
(19:01):
a very different kind of Catholicism from the Catholicism that
you see on American media and in American politics a lot.
Speaker 12 (19:10):
And a very different American that was elected to a
very high position than an American that was elected November.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Of last year.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
That is correct. I mean, it's like five tweets and
they're all anti the administration, and his tweets are causing
some consternation among the more right wing factions of Roman Catholicism.
Is he the most popular American world leader?
Speaker 12 (19:33):
Uh oh, Natalie, thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
It's such a pleasure for Nanda. I love talking with you,
so thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
That was our Latino USA Managing editor Fernanda Echavari speaking
with Natalia and Paratory Lee, feminist theologian and author of
Finmin and the Church. This episode was produced by Monica
(20:12):
Morales Garcia. It was edited by Andrea Lopez Gruzado. It
was mixed by Stephanie Lebau and JJ Carubin. Production assistants
by Troxana guire special thanks to our own Millie Reis,
who's recording me in Chicago, and to everyone out there
who shared their voice memos with us. The Latino USA
team also includes Julia Caruso, Feliciao Minez, Jessica Ellis, Victoria Strada,
(20:37):
Dominique Estrosa, Frinaldo Lanos, Junior, Luis Luna, Julieta Martinelli, Marta Martinez,
Dasha Sandoval, mur Saudi and Nancy Truchuillo. Penilee Ramirez, Maria
Garcia and I are co executive producers and I'm your
host Mariao Rossa. Join us again on our next episode.
In the meantime, why don't you go to wherever you're
(20:58):
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Speaker 4 (21:01):
Do it?
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Yatusavis Joe.
Speaker 16 (21:05):
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Se permitten tambien on salulo atolos sakeos in allo particular
amiquerida dis is that chiclaio and at peru.
Speaker 2 (00:20):
The Catholic Church, dear listener, has a new leader. His
name is Pope Leo the fourteenth, and yes he speaks Spanish.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Donte un pueblo fell campagnado, aspo a compartidoe yadado, tanto
tanto segir siendo Igleafel Cristo.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Papaleon is the first ever pope from the United States.
So when he addressed the massive crowd in Vatican City
a few days ago, he spoke in Italian, as all
popes do, but unlike most of them, he all so
spoke in Espanol. From fludro media and pr X, it's
(01:08):
Latino Usa, I'm Mariano Rosa. Today the unexpected pick of
an American pope.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Becose.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
It is certainly it looks like white smoke.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
That means there is a cardinal who.
Speaker 5 (01:33):
Is now a pope, A Sir Gaudi Manu ma'am our
babu spa ma'am.
Speaker 2 (01:49):
On May eighth, in Vatican City, the second pope from
the Americas emerged on the balcony at Saint Peter's Basilica and.
Speaker 6 (01:57):
Where history has been made. Today with the election of
sixty nine year old Robert Francis Prevost born in Chicago,
he has chosen the papal name Leo the fourteenth.
Speaker 2 (02:08):
The new pope wore a gold cross around his neck
and a burgundy stole over his shoulders, keeping with the
church traditions.
Speaker 1 (02:16):
Bat jsia ponto tivoy.
Speaker 2 (02:22):
Peace be with you all were his first words as
the new leader of the more than one billion Catholics
around the globe.
Speaker 1 (02:29):
Telly sore le carrissimi quest so el primo, saluto del
cristo resorto.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo the fourteenth is from Chicago,
my hometown where, well, understatement, people are pretty thrilled.
Speaker 7 (02:50):
David, I can almost feel the vibration of Catholics in
Chicago's celebrating this moment right now, two point one million
Catholics in the Chicago area, many of whom speak Spanish
and English.
Speaker 8 (03:01):
It just makes me proud of you in Chicago and
makes me proud you have the first American Bob.
Speaker 9 (03:07):
It's Tom fer.
Speaker 2 (03:18):
Territorial quiabla de supropia.
Speaker 9 (03:22):
Achos no solo.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
I immediately posted on social media Southsider or North Sider,
Cubs or socks, deep dish or thin crust, Portillo's hot
dogs or burgers, Mexican Spanish or Peruvian Spanish. These are
the burning questions that my fellow Chicagoans want to know
about the new pope. And it turns out that the
new pope is a Sox fan. His brother John Prevost
(03:48):
confirmed it.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
He was never ever a Cubs fan, so I don't
know where that came from. He was always a Sox fan,
so I don't know where that all came from.
Speaker 2 (03:56):
We don't know what Pope Leo's ring is going to
look like, but we can lean clues from what we
know of his past, like his criticism of President Trump's
policies on immigration and most recently, of Vice President JD. Vance.
Speaker 6 (04:10):
On his social media account, he reposted criticism of JD
Vance's interpretation of the Gospel. He also retweeted a post
of an op ed that was critical of Donald Trump's
deportation policies, an op ed that read, in part quote,
is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?
Speaker 2 (04:29):
After the Pope's appointment. His brother gave more hints in
an interview with Unibishun.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
I kind of think you will see a continuation of
Pope Francis. I think he's concerned with people, with their souls,
with their spirituality. You'll see looking for help for the poor,
the downtrodden, the ones who are kind of ignored in life.
(04:57):
He spent so much time in the missions in Peru,
and I think that's where his heart is.
Speaker 2 (05:02):
Robert Francis Prevost spent decades serving in Peru, and well,
I don't know if you know this, but Peruvians rep
all things Peru pretty hard. So in Peru and here
in the US, they are celebrating papalon as one of
their own. And honestly, he kind of is. Because the
(05:24):
new Pope has Peruvian citizenship.
Speaker 8 (05:26):
You begin to google him, who is he, Where was
this church? How long are he being there? And you know, like,
the new Pope is Peruvian. And even though I'm not Catholic,
it is a little bit of sense of pride that
the Catholic Church is being led by someone to go
to my rooms.
Speaker 2 (05:44):
Peruvians shared their thoughts of immense pride to see someone
recognize their country and Latin America on a global stage.
Speaker 10 (05:52):
Ca yemo parans and no sunne infe in recortan American
munduandi Peru.
Speaker 2 (06:15):
And then there was that moment where, honestly my jaw
dropped when the new Pope standing at the Vatican mentioned Chiclayo,
a city in northern Peru where he served as.
Speaker 11 (06:27):
Bishop represent Us and Peruano Lao Bargieno Lanco Marina.
Speaker 2 (06:47):
And then, of course there's the fact that the new
Pope is a Spanish speaker, as we heard at the
top of the show, something that is not lost across
Latin America.
Speaker 9 (06:56):
It was very important for me to see a pope
who is American, who was born in Chicago address his
followers in the world in Spanish and thanking Peru. So
I think that he sends a very strong message not
(07:16):
speaking English but chose to speak Spanish on his first attress.
Speaker 2 (07:21):
In his first speech, he decided to forego his native
English and speak in Italian and Spanish.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Only there's like a micro significance and a macro significance.
Like the micro one is that he is very he
loves Peru very much. But I think on a larger
scale it's a sign of the reality of Roman Catholicism
in the United States.
Speaker 2 (07:43):
That's feminist theologian Natalia Imparatory Lee. We had her on
our show just a week ago to talk about the
impact and legacy as well as the shortcomings of the
former Pope, Papa Francisco of Argentina. Our managing editor Fernanda
spoke to her then, and then the two of them
spoke again right after the news about the new pope broke.
(08:06):
They're going to break it all down for us after
the break, so stay with us. Not by yes, hey,
we're back. Here's the conversation between Latino USA managing editor
(08:31):
Fernanda Echavarri and Natalia Imparatory Lee, feminist theologian and author
of Women and the Church.
Speaker 12 (08:42):
So hello again. I did not think I was going
to be speaking to you this soon.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
Crazy right, What a crazy week.
Speaker 12 (08:51):
You and I spoke when Pope Francis passed, and now
here we are because we did not expect to have
an American and when we say American, it's not just
from the US, but from the American continent, including Latin America.
And when we spoke last time, at no point did
you even joke like it would be wild if it
was somebody from the US, like that is how wild
(09:13):
this card is.
Speaker 4 (09:15):
That's exactly right because he's an American, he's from the
United States. But also he's not totally He's definitely not
part of that kind of powerful US hierarchy that you
hear about. He's part of the Peruvian hierarchy. So there's
a lot of Peru going on with this.
Speaker 12 (09:31):
Pope, a lot of Peru going on. We already saw
the memes in there, like just a chef's kiss. But first,
you and I are speaking just hours after the news broke,
So what were your immediate reactions.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
I was in my office meeting with a student and
creating final papers, and I had the chimney on because
obviously you keep it on just in case, and all
of a sudden there was white smoke, and I completely
freaked out. And then we heard it was an American,
and then I freaked out parentheses derodatory. And then I
heard who it was, and then I freaked out parentheses
cautiously optimistic. So when they said it was an American,
(10:07):
that was a huge surprise. When you think of the
American bishops, cardinals who are potential popes. You know, many
of them are very closely aligned with the government, and
it was a little bit scary. But this guy is
definitely an outsider.
Speaker 12 (10:22):
I know, We've said it, and I keep seeing it also,
like this is historic, this is unexpected. Some of the
life coverage was like my jaw is on the ground,
like I can't believe this. And when I emailed you,
you responded in all caps like that you were shocked, right.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
Yeah, nobody expected two popes from the American continent. Two
popes from the America's back to back signals a kind
of shift from a primarily European, culturally European church to
a far more global reality. It's a good sign for
the church in America broadly understood, and it's a good
(10:56):
sign for the global church as well, because he is
reiterating this idea that America is Alaska to Tierra del Fuego,
all of that is America, and this pope is also
that kind of an American. So, yes, he was born
in Chicago, but he lived and served in Peru. He
is a Peruvian bishop, He's a naturalized citizen of Peru.
(11:19):
Sola Papa are both Peruvian.
Speaker 12 (11:23):
El Papa and so Before we get more into who
will be Pope Leo the fourteenth, let's begin with who
was Cardinal Robert Privost? What can you tell us about him?
Speaker 4 (11:36):
Cardinal Provost was a man who was working in the Vatican.
Pope Francis brought him to the Vatican to be the
man who advised him on who to name as a bishop.
He is an Augustinian priest, so he's a religious order priest.
The Augustinians are a missionary order. They have a lot
of presence in Latin America and in other mission territories.
(11:59):
So he served in U, and he served with a
very poor, very marginalized population, and that really shaped his
ministry and his understanding of the priesthood. He eventually became
a bishop in Peru, and to do that you have
to be a Peruvian citizen, which is an important sort
of concession in a very colonizing church, to say, instead
(12:23):
of bishops from other countries, you have to be from here.
You have to be a citizen of here to be
a bishop. And so he's a bishop who was born
in the US, but he is a bishop of Peru.
Speaker 12 (12:36):
That speaks so much of what in this show we
talk about all the time is where you belong, where
you are from, what is home? What is your language?
What is your citizenship? Some of that stuff on paper
can be one thing, but in reality, like it's so
much more complex, isn't it so much more complex?
Speaker 4 (12:54):
What it means to be hen tepuente, what it means
to be Latino? What does that even look like? If
you've got one foot over there and on foot over here,
or your heart over there, but your body is here.
And he, I think, is showing us that from the
US side. Right, here's a Chicago kid, but he has
Peruvian citizenship because that was the church that he was
sent to and that he wanted to minister to and
(13:16):
that he fell in love with.
Speaker 12 (13:18):
In Chicago, folks are claiming him as one of their own,
like he's from here. And then you have people in
New Orleans now who are also saying, you know, his
parents had roots here, so they're also finding connections to him.
And of course you have the Peruvian connection, which has
gotten a big response already. We have some voicemails from
(13:40):
folks who called in and told us their thoughts.
Speaker 13 (13:43):
Condole n Espanol inclusive velospor sevan and we were momento
se mos is okay dematos atorus ispano.
Speaker 14 (13:55):
Parlamdi elai suna bendisios a elespiritu santoo tieno is a
consider the massil important continent Imbri leonficao ye to former Derava.
Speaker 12 (14:26):
As we know, every pope chooses a name to go by.
What can you tell me about the choosing of his name.
Speaker 4 (14:30):
Yes, so he chose Leo as his name, and Leo
the thirteenth is Leon. Really he's a lion of Catholic
social teaching. He basically ushered in the Catholic social doctrine
that we understand today. So the idea of the dignity
of every human being, the idea of the dignity of work,
(14:51):
all of those things were ushered in by Leo the thirteenth.
And one of the things that that Leo, his predecessor
Leo was addressing was the industrial revolution. So at a
time when the industrial revolution is really transforming the world
and transforming people's lives to the detriment in many ways,
Leo thirteenth was a strong voice for workers' rights, for
(15:13):
labor organizing, and for dignified work for people. And it's
a I think an important sign that this Leo, this
American Leo, is taking that name, indicating to me at
least that he wants to continue that strong voice for
social justice.
Speaker 12 (15:33):
So here we are with somebody who was chosen to
follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who was much
more progressive and sort of to the left of where
the church had been. However, my understanding from what I'm
reading is that he is more moderate than Pope France's. Right,
So what can we expect from him now that he's
been chosen to leave the Catholic Church and it's one
(15:54):
point four billion followers.
Speaker 4 (15:56):
Well, the truth is, we have no idea, and anyone
who tells you that they know what kind of pope
he's going to be is not telling you the truth
because we don't know. It changes a man, I think,
to become the pope. And maybe he is more moderate.
He has a different personality. I think you could tell
that almost immediately from his appearance on the balcony. Right,
he seems more introverted than Fancisco was, And that's okay,
(16:19):
But he echoed a lot about Pope Francis in his
remarks from the balcony, So I don't think that it's
going to be like a radical change. I just think
we're going to get a lot of the same priorities,
but in a different style.
Speaker 12 (16:31):
But there is not necessarily the warmest welcome, perhaps by
some in the LGBTQ community, because before he was Popolo
hadn't been as supportive as Pope Francis. Is that is
that right.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
The remarks that people are talking about were from twenty twelve.
Speaker 15 (16:46):
Twenty twelve, the now Holy Father spoke about how the
Western news media has fostered sympathy for beliefs on odds
with the Gospel, including the quote homosexual lifestyle and quote
alternative families comprised of same sex parts and their adopted children.
He has, though in the past, supported to Pope Francis's
general aim to make the church more inclusive.
Speaker 4 (17:08):
There's a lot that we don't know about his personal views,
especially LGBTQ issues. But I feel like the change that
we're starting to see in the church is that that
pastoral instinct, the instinct to minister to real people instead
of dealing in these doctrinal, abstract things, will start to
sort of change the way that the church speaks about
(17:33):
the LGBTQ community. By centering the fact that these are
human beings with dignity first, and I think that for
a lot of gay Catholics and lesbian Catholics and transgender Catholics,
that is a really welcome change that they would like
to hear from every pope from now on.
Speaker 12 (17:49):
And also one of the things that I heard was
that he also wasn't us forward in responding to the
child sexual abuse pattern in the Catholic Church. So what
can you tell me about that?
Speaker 4 (18:01):
On the sex abuse stuff? The reports that I've seen
were that he was in line with Vatican directives. That
can be good or it can be bad. A lot
of us feel like the Vatican didn't go far enough
until Francis, and so maybe he didn't go far enough.
That's entirely possible. But I don't want us to make
(18:22):
a judgment about the kind of pope this guy is
going to be in the first five hours of his papacy,
because we genuinely don't know.
Speaker 12 (18:34):
So he's representing the United States. What's the larger significance
of this.
Speaker 4 (18:38):
I think that the presence of the American political climate
and the sort of turmoil that that's causing on the
global stage. I do think that the election of Pope
Leo the fourteenth is a bit of a response to that.
I think that they chose an American that would show
(19:01):
a very different kind of Catholicism from the Catholicism that
you see on American media and in American politics a lot.
Speaker 12 (19:10):
And a very different American that was elected to a
very high position than an American that was elected November.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Of last year.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
That is correct. I mean, it's like five tweets and
they're all anti the administration, and his tweets are causing
some consternation among the more right wing factions of Roman Catholicism.
Is he the most popular American world leader?
Speaker 12 (19:33):
Uh oh, Natalie, thank you so much.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
It's such a pleasure for Nanda. I love talking with you,
so thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
That was our Latino USA Managing editor Fernanda Echavari speaking
with Natalia and Paratory Lee, feminist theologian and author of
Finmin and the Church. This episode was produced by Monica
(20:12):
Morales Garcia. It was edited by Andrea Lopez Gruzado. It
was mixed by Stephanie Lebau and JJ Carubin. Production assistants
by Troxana guire special thanks to our own Millie Reis,
who's recording me in Chicago, and to everyone out there
who shared their voice memos with us. The Latino USA
team also includes Julia Caruso, Feliciao Minez, Jessica Ellis, Victoria Strada,
(20:37):
Dominique Estrosa, Frinaldo Lanos, Junior, Luis Luna, Julieta Martinelli, Marta Martinez,
Dasha Sandoval, mur Saudi and Nancy Truchuillo. Penilee Ramirez, Maria
Garcia and I are co executive producers and I'm your
host Mariao Rossa. Join us again on our next episode.
In the meantime, why don't you go to wherever you're
(20:58):
listening to this podcast right now and give us a follow?
Speaker 4 (21:01):
Do it?
Speaker 2 (21:02):
Yatusavis Joe.
Speaker 16 (21:05):
Latino USA is made possible in part by the Heising
Simons Foundation, Unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities. More at Hsfoundation
dot org, Skyline Foundation, and the John D. And Catherine T.
MacArthur Foundation
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