Americans, even catholic Americans, have an odd relationship with the Vatican. The Americans send heaping piles of cash and support and the church sends a message that no American will ever be pope – ever. Screw you!
For some reason that will remain a mystery to me; presidents always want to meet the pope. Almost all get a verbal lashing. No matter the party or president, they get the cold shoulder and some snide comments. Here’s an example. After meeting the pope, President Clinton made some perfunctory remarks about a positive exchange of views and the standard issue, polite dribble. The pope rushed an assistant out within minutes to make sure everyone knew there was nothing positive about their meeting and that Clinton was a liar. If I were president, I would never want to meet these people. The sole exception seems to be when Obama met Francis. Why do presidents insist on going there just to get their butts kicked?
The only pope I thought was a good person was Pope Francis. He had some idea of what that whole Jesus thing was all about. In my opinion, the worst modern pope was probably Benedict XVI. That guy had more in common with American evangelicals than he had with the woke, serve-Jesus stuff. Homie wore Trumpian levels of gold bling.
So now we have the first American pope. Of course, The Donald made out like it is some positive thing but he didn’t try to take credit. The irony is that this is probably the time when he really could take credit. And he would be right; this never would have happened if Sleepy Joe was in the White House. Leo XIV made his first major address using any language except English. Not a single word. Hello? That’s a pretty clear message that if Trump comes, he will get yet another frosty welcome. I know you want to go: this is so stupid.
The news media in the US, regardless of politics, is playing this as the Holy See flipping the United States off, again. The Americans elected a populist president, so we will elect an American pope who has already thrown a little shade the White House’s way. Can you feel the love? It’s a warm, spiteful glow that emanates from the Vatican.
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, I really don’t care. Well, that’s not quite true: Pope Leo may yet be worthy… it would be great if he can carry on Pope Francis’ pro-Jesus work.
A new pope – do we care?
In the U.K., there are approximately seven million Roman Catholics, about 15% of the population, making it the largest religious minority.
This was certainly reflected in the BBC’s coverage of the day when Pope Leo XIV, Robert Francis Prevost, became the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter.
The six o’clock evening news bulletin allocated 26 minutes of its normal 30 to this, with every other story given just a total of four minutes of coverage. For someone who has long since dismissed the chance that there really is a fairy in the sky overlooking us all, I thought it a major over-reaction. But there was an unusual interest in this new chap, even for me, as he hailed from the unlikeliest country of them all.
And he seemed to possess a character that was far from the usual modern-day pontiff. In recent months, he appears to have challenged the views of US Vice-President JD Vance. A social media account in his name shared a post on Twix (sorry, I refuse to call it X) that was critical of the Trump administration’s deportation of a US resident to El Salvador. The account also shared a critical comment piece written about a TV interview by Vance.
Yes, even us heathens, who far outnumber the Roman Catholic community, had to admit to a certain interest in this new development. But two weeks on, frankly, the country has far more important issues about which to worry, and I can’t remember the last time Leo XIV was mentioned since in a BBC bulletin.
Long may he remain a Trump-administration basher, but frankly, 85% of our population appear not to give a toss about the latest Leo.
A new Pope: do we care – in Russia?
Just like in my previous post about the Indo-Pak conflict: hell, no!
Personally, I don’t care about it because any new pope will have no impact on world affairs, like helping to stop the war in Ukraine.
The last person on this post who could – and did – influence world matters, was John Paul II, a truly enlightened person, a religious titan, and a visionary. I even have his book, printed in Russia, in Russian, back in 1992, when my country was pursuing a future very different to what we have now.
The new pope will definitely influence the vast catholic world, but for Russia, a non-catholic land, his arrival has come unnoticed. He isn’t talk of the town.
John Paul II came from Poland that had been fighting for its freedom for decades, and his appointment was a clear signal to communists that their time would soon be over. He fought totalitarian forces alongside Ronald Reagan and Maggie Thatcher, and eventually, they won, by the end of 1980s.
The new Pope might introduce some silly and limited catholic church reforms. These actions would be an in-house affair that matters only for catholics. The John Paul II era is over and there’s no comparable figure in or around Vatican.
I mean, I really don’t care who the new pope is. Did he accept the name of Leo XIV? Good for him.