So that's that, ok? Now what? No more Francis to kick around. New man with a more, ah, civilized -- polished -- way about him, and can you believe, Chicago-born. Who'd a-thunk it?
One thing, the guy who sounded so sure of himself is now looking for a job? Or at least got a slap on his wrist?
“Horrible record of Cardinal Prevost in his Diocese severely limits the chance of him becoming Pope,” he headlined.
Heh. Can’t win ‘em all, fella. But your heavy accusation of ignoring sexual abuse is not exactly rare among his modernistic (or other) fellow cardinals.
Yet ‘n still, to call up a phrase from my time with the movement on the West Side in the ‘60s . . . .
Meanwhile, it’s an accusation to be taken seriously. Leo “the sympathy of the pro-Francis Curia and could be the alternative if the candidacies of Parolin and Tagle fail.
Okay, he got that right. Who needed either of those battle-worn characters?
NC Reporter man, on the other hand, with his “This cardinal has the best chance of making history in this conclave,” he be sharp as a tack and deserves a promotion.
That said, a point worth making as we looked ahead:
When Prevost arrived at the Vatican [2 years ago] little was known about him beyond some details of his management during the pandemic, such as requiring Communion in the hand or establishing that confessions be conducted by telephone to avoid physical contact.
Phew. A true believer in the infallibility of the state? He wasn’t the only prelate to bow in this fashion — take Chicago’s Cupich. Please.
A Chicago 'Pope', But Not Likely A Catholic One was from a man who gives us meaning in [world] history but also has a keen sense of what’s what in holy Roman Catholic matters, who pointed out:
This guy Prevost has been dogged by scandal in recent years and was a Bergoglio crony. [Got his late-career key promotions from him.] He spent much of his career in Peru. If you want insight into what he actually thinks—forget it. He pretty much has kept his mouth shut . . .
Which is a good sign, actually, considering what we’ve been exposed to for twelve years of off-cuff commentary.
Then came the election and white smoke. At which time our man cited Damian Thompson:
An absolutely stunning decision – one that will delight liberals but raise immediate questions about the alleged mishandling of abuse cases in Peru. We must wish the new Holy Father well, however, and congratulate him.
Stunned he was but gathered himself together for those old and oft-repeated abuse issues.
Adding that Prevost in general held “views close to Pope Francis.”
The Francis connection is clear enough. In January, 2023, he appointed him prefect of the dicastery for picking bishops, six months latermade him a cardinal.
“If you thought Bergoglio appointed great bishops, you’ll really like this guy,” commented our meaning-in-history man.
We didn’t think that.
So. How about a rundown on Leo’s inclinations, preferences, beliefs etc. that gives us an idea where he stands, as gathered from “social media posts (and reposts), public remarks and interviews with media outlets”?
Climate change? Leo “is a strong believer that the faithful have a responsibility to take care of the planet.”
[As] president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, [he] argued . . . that it is time to move “from words to action” on the “environmental crisis.”
Uh-oh. Based on what? But a cautionary note:
“Dominion over nature” should not become “tyrannical, [he argued] that humanity’s relationship with the environment must be a “relationship of reciprocity.”
He’s made a study, has he?
Prevost further cautioned against the “harmful” environmental impacts of technological development and highlighted the Vatican’s installation of solar panels and use of electric vehicles.
Same old, same old . . .
Gender ideology and homosexuality
Francis famously told reporters, “Who am I to judge?” gay people and said homosexuals “must be integrated into society,” Leo XIV may be less accommodating.
To whom?
In a 2012 address to bishops, Prevost accused the news media and popular culture for encouraging “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel,” according to the New York Times.
Among those “beliefs and practices” Prevost cited were the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.”
Good.
And he has criticized Western culture for promoting the “homosexual lifestyle.” AP
Good.
While bishop of Chiclayo in northwestern Peru, Prevost opposed a government initiative to promote gender ideology teachings in schools.
“The promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist,” he told local news media at the time.
Ditto.
On social media, Prevost has expressed strong support for the Catholic Church’s anti-abortion stance.
In 2015, Prevost posted a photograph from the March For Life rally in Chiclayo, exhorting his followers: “Let’s defend human life at all times!”
Prevost also retweeted a 2017 Catholic News Agency article on New York Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan condemning abortion at a Mass ahead of the March For Life rally in Washington, DC.
In his homily, Dolan urged Catholics to “reclaim the belief that the mother’s womb is the primal sanctuary, where a helpless, innocent, fragile, tiny baby is safe, secure, nurtured and protected.”
“Let’s defend human life at all times!” Prevost tweeted in 2015.
He “has expressed opposition to capital punishment, reflecting the . . . Church’s position and Francis’ commitment to see the practice ended worldwide.
“It’s time to end the death penalty,” he wrote March 5, 2015, in an X post
In 2016, he reposted a Catholic News Agency article “in which citizens of Belgium, where euthanasia is legal, urged Canadians not to support legislation that would allow for assisted suicides.
“’Don’t go there’ – Belgians plead with Canada not to pass euthanasia law,” read the tweet that Prevost shared.
In the article, Belgian doctors, lawyers, and family members whose loved ones were euthanized argued that assisted suicide threatens the most vulnerable in society and compromises the doctor-patient relationship.
Guns.
In October 2017, he retweeted a call for new US gun control from Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) after a gunman murdered 60 people in Las Vegas.
“To my colleagues: your cowardice to act cannot be whitewashed by thoughts and prayers. None of this ends unless we do something to stop it,” Murphy wrote in the tweet shared by the new pope.
None of which clearly predict what he’s gonna do.