Silliness about his Chicago connections aside, I am hopeful with the Spirit’s selection of Cardinal Robert Provost as now Pope Leo XIV. Not so much because he is a citizen of the United States, but because of his Peruvian background. An interesting juxtaposition of experience. He certainly appears to be one that will continue to trudge the path reopened by Pope Saint John XXIII, and walked by the pontiffs that followed, of letting the Spirit back into the Catholic Church. The selection of the name Leo indicates our new pope’s devotion to social justice, the poor, and those “least ones” Jesus speaks about. Leo XIII put much of the Church’s emphasis toward social justice onto paper, clarifying what being a Catholic Christian truly represents. Our world needs a strong, consist and honest voice to loudly proclaim God’s justice.
John Zeller
Sun City resident
