Based on his remarks on social media, the next pope seems to oppose Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown despite being an American.
On Thursday, Chicago-born Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the first American pope, assuming the role of head of state for the 1.41 billion Catholics around the world.
The former missionary, also known as Pope Leo XIV, has been outspoken in his disapproval of the immigration policy of the Trump administration.
In his final tweet on April 14, he criticized the Trump administration for deporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia, 30, an undocumented immigrant from Maryland and father of three, to El Salvador.
“Do you not see the suffering?” the post asks. Are you not troubled by your conscience? How are you able to remain silent?
The 69-year-old Pope Leo XIV also tweeted a number of articles that discuss Catholic JD Vance’s immigration beliefs. “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others” is the title of one of them.
An hour later, the senior cardinal deacon came into the loggia, pronounced “Habemus Papam!” and proclaimed Prevost the victor. Tens of thousands of spectators waited to see who had won while waving flags from all over the world.
When speaking to the crowd, he utilized Spanish and Italian rather than English.
The last pope to use the name Leo was the Italian Leo XIII, who led the church from 1878 until 1903. The foundation for modern Catholic social thought was established by Leo’s 1891 encyclical Rerum Novarum, which addressed capitalism and workers’ rights while tempering the church’s combative attitude toward modernity, particularly science and politics.
In favor of DACA recipients—unauthorized immigrants who were brought to the US by their parents when they were minors—Pope Leo published a statement from 2017.
“There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages,” Pope Leo wrote in a 2018 essay.
Pope Leo’s opinions on immigration should not come as a surprise, considering that he spent the majority of his career in Latin America and even earned Peruvian citizenship.
He made his first public appearance as Pope on Thursday, speaking in both Spanish and Italian.
Chants of “Leon, Leon” filled the still-stunned audience, with others mouthing “An American?”
The first American-born pope, Cardinal Prevost, has recently emerged as a possible contender.
The cardinal, who loves tennis and is known as Father Bob, is considered the “least American of the Americans.” He is a gentle reformer who would carry on Pope Francis’s work.
Regardless of the Pope’s stance, President Trump and JD Vance were quick to congratulate him on his election.
“We congratulate Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost on his recent appointment as Pope. The fact that he is the first American Pope is such tremendous honor. What a great honor for our nation, and what a thrill. I’m excited to meet Pope Leo XIV. It will be a time of great significance!
Provost’s election as pope shocked the world because it has long been illegal to elect an American pope due to the United States’ current geopolitical supremacy in the secular sphere.
But Prevost, who is also a Peruvian, lived there for years, first as a missionary and then as an archbishop.
He was favored by the cardinals of Latin America and North America, despite his silence on topics such as female clergy and same-sex unions.
Furthermore, in the thirteenth century, St. Augustine founded the Augustinian monastic order, of which Prevost was twice named prior general, or top commander.
Pope Francis’ long-term interest in him was evident in 2014 when he was sent back to Peru by the Augustinian leadership to serve as the administrator and later archbishop of Chiclayo.
In his opening remarks as Pope Francis’ successor, Leo declared, “Peace be with you,” from the loggia of St. Peter’s Basilica. He placed a strong emphasis on missionary evangelism, communication, and peace. He wore the traditional crimson cape of the pope, which Francis had declined to don upon his election in 2013.
The crowd in St. Peter’s Square applauded when white smoke billowed from the Sistine Chapel on the second day of the conclave. “Viva il papa!” shouted the crowd while nuns wept and priests made the sign of the cross.