【2023 Archives】

023 ArchivesRoman Catholic Church elected its new pope on Thursday, with the conclave selecting American Cardinal Robert Prevost, henceforth known as Pope Leo XIV. And like friends investigating their bestie's new boyfriend, the internet is already digging through the pope's old social media posts.

SEE ALSO: Pope Francis warned against new technology replacing 'human relationships' in final weeks

Pope Leo XIV opened his X account @drprevost in August 2011, back when the social media platform was still known as Twitter. However, rather than pen his own posts, Pope Leo XIV overwhelmingly preferred sharing other people's posts, links to external articles, and the occasional Catholic-themed meme. Of the few posts he appears to have written himself, many merely record administrative events, whether in his professional life or more broadly within the Catholic Church.

However, we can still glean a lot from what the new pontiff chose to share.

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Pope Leo XIV is pro-life

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The first post strongly indicating Pope Leo XIV's attitude toward a political issue came in 2012. That February, the then-Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine appeared to share a petition calling for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to scrap its requirement that Catholic employers provide their workers with healthcare insurance plans which include birth control. 

The petition ultimately garnered 29,127 signatures. In 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that employers could enjoy an exemption from the HHS' requirement on religious and moral grounds.

Pope Leo XIV's views on abortion appear to have remained unchanged in 2016, when he shared an article in which pro-life voters blamed Hillary Clinton's election defeat on her pro-choice stance. The next year, he shared articles from the religious publication Catholic News Agency (CNA), which reported on then-U.S. vice president Mike Pence and New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan's comments at a pro-life rally.

The freshly minted pontiff also shared an article from CNA reporting on allegations that doctors conducting abortions were selling fetal tissue and endorsing infantcide. Though not mentioned in the article, an investigation by media watchdog Media Matters for America found that the undercover video giving rise to these claims had been deceptively edited and taken out of context.

Pope Leo XIV is pro-immigrant rights

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Though he apparently shares Pence's views on abortion, this doesn't mean Pope Leo XIV is wholeheartedly supportive of President Donald Trump's administration. The pope has long expressed disapproval of Trump's immigration policies in particular.

One of Pope Leo XIV's old X posts which has gained significant attention dates back to when Trump was campaigning. In August 2015, Pope Leo XIV shared a Washington Post opinion piece from Dolan entitled, "Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic."

"I am not in the business of telling people what candidates they should support or who deserves their vote," wrote Dolan. "But as a Catholic, I take seriously the Bible’s teaching that we are to welcome the stranger, one of the most frequently mentioned moral imperatives in both the Old and New Testament."

Then shortly after the 2016 U.S. presidential election, Pope Leo XIV shared a speech by Archbishop José H. Gomez acknowledging that Trump's win left many immigrants fearful.

"This should not be happening in America," said Gomez. "We are better people than this. We should not accept that this is the best we can hope for — in our politics or in ourselves."

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Then in 2017, Pope Leo XIV shared several posts condemning U.S. bans on refugees. He further shared statements from Gomez calling for immigration reform, speaking against deportation of undocumented people, and stating that the U.S. government's "ongoing failure to address the immigration crisis is a humanitarian tragedy."

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"There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages," Cardinal Blase J. Cupich wrote in a post Pope Leo XIV shared in 2018, referring to Trump's widely criticised policy of separating immigrant children from their parents. "This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all."

The pontiff further shared articles examining his predecessor Pope Francis' letter to U.S. bishops on immigration, and criticising J.D. Vance's statement on Fox Newsthat "you love your family, and then you love your neighbor, and then you love your community, and then you love your fellow citizens, and then after that prioritize the rest of the world."

"J.D. Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others," read the headline for a National Catholic Reporter article shared by the new pope. 

As of writing, the most recent update on Pope Leo XIV's X account is a repost sharing an article in the Catholic Standard by Bishop Evelio Menjivar, which condemns the U.S. government's recent treatment of immigrants and refugees.

"Do you not see the suffering…?" wrote Menjivar. "Is your conscience not disturbed? How can you stay quiet?"

Pope Leo XIV is for gun control

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The pope also seems to support gun control. In the wake of the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, Pope Leo XIV shared a statement from Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, which called for "increased access to mental health care and stronger, sensible gun control laws."

Pope Leo XIV also shared a post by Democratic senator Chris Murphy, who wrote, "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."

Pope Leo XIV is against racism

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Pope Leo XIV also took to X to condemn racism mere days after the murder of George Floyd at the hands of a police officer in May 2020. The murder sparked global protests against racism and police brutality, and widespread support for the Black Lives Matter movement.

In one of his rare self-penned X posts, Pope Leo XIV wrote, "We need to hear more from leaders in the Church, to reject racism and seek justice." 

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He also shared posts expressing support for Floyd's family and condemning racism.

Pope Leo XIV is for vaccines and masks

Credit: Francesco Sforza - Vatican Media via Vatican Pool / Getty Images

The pope continued posting on X during the COVID-19 pandemic, posting news of mask donations in Peru. He also displayed a sense of humour when he shared a comedic TikTok skit about social distancing.

More significantly, in 2021 Pope Leo XIV shared a post from Gomez stating, "May God grant us the grace to face #COVID19 with the strength of faith, ensuring that vaccines are available for all, so that we can all get immunized."

Pope Leo XIV believes in climate change

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While the pope hasn't made many posts about climate change on X, he isn't completely silent on the matter. In November 2015, Pope Leo XIV called for followers to sign a climate petition organised by the Global Catholic Climate Movement, which has since been renamed to the Laudato Si' Movement. This organisation advocates for non-proliferation and divestment from fossil fuels, as well as the protection of biodiversity.

Pope Leo XIV opposes the death penalty and euthanasia

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Another issue Pope Leo XIV touched on in his X posts was the death penalty. The pope took a strong stance against capital punishment in March 2015, writing, "It's time to end the death penalty."

He also doesn't seem to be a big fan of euthanasia, sharing an article in 2016 which reported on Belgium citizens who advocated against Canada legalising the practice. Canada legalised medical assistance in dying later that year. 

Pope Leo XIV might share some of Pope Francis' progressive philosophy

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Exactly how closely Pope Leo XIV will follow in Pope Francis' footsteps is still yet to be seen. However, a few of his X posts indicate he may be sympathetic to some of his predecessor's progressive views. In 2016, Pope Leo XIV shared a talk by Pope Francis in which he stated that God's law "was not drawn up to enslave us but to set us free," and that rigid adherence to it "isn't a gift of God."

Later sharing guidance that Pope Francis issued to bishops in 2021, Pope Leo XIV added that "These beatitudes also highlight the temptations faced by bishops, like that of seeking power and a comfortable lifestyle."

Another hint at what we might expect from Pope Leo XIV's papacy may be found in a 2015 article he shared from Huffpost. In it, author Kerry Weber discussed the future of the Catholic Church, and suggested how it might retain younger Catholics. This included supporting women in leadership roles; putting more emphasis on a global, diverse church; and making more of an effort to listen to younger Catholics.

Much of Pope Leo XIV's activity on X is years old, so it's possible that some of his opinions may have changed over time. Merely sharing an article also doesn't necessarily denote agreement with absolutely everything in it, and looking solely at the new pope's X activity still leaves many questions and gaps. Still, examining Pope Leo XIV's digital footprint certainly offers interesting clues as to what the Catholic Church might look like under its new leader.