Expert Q&A

With his first encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas, Pope Leo XIV beautifully aligns himself with traditional Catholic Social Teaching and Pope Francis, while grounding his vision in the theology of St. Augustine. The result is a groundbreaking defense of the human person in our new age of artificial intelligence. Leo resurrects Augustine’s famous warning that human history is a constant struggle between two loves fighting for our hearts (MH, 130). He specifically equates the unrestricted love of self, driven by pride and arrogance, with the scriptural metaphor of the Tower of Babel. In this story, the builders tried to create “a single language, a single technology, a single direction” without reference to God. This attempt by human ingenuity alone resulted in cultivating a “uniformity that eliminated diversity” and “homogenization over communion” (MH, 7). In contrast, the properly oriented love of God and neighbor enables authentic unity capable of creating a civilization that preserves human dignity without dehumanization. In building this civilization, Leo addresses both the need for humanity to not fear the limitations of our finitude and the profound human desire for self-transcendence.

In his language to diplomats and about matters of international concern, Pope Leo is notably good at articulating and reaffirming the principles that Catholics insist must guide decision-making, without getting down into the conclusions at a contestable level. The way he speaks and his presence could make it easier to discuss such sensitive topics. There were times when Pope Francis would talk off the cuff and give exaggerated responses, which would sometimes cause [the Vatican] to have to backtrack. With Leo, it's always careful. I think he sees his job to be a model of deliberation, care and unequivocal commitment to first principles that everybody should live by.

For a long time, because the Church has been run in Italian and the Pope speaks Italian, there has been a kind of implicit sense that Italians own the Church and that all other expressions of Catholicism are not the "real thing." Pope Leo XIV brings this sense of the universal Church that is much needed, and his ability to speak English, Spanish, French and Italian emphasizes that. I think one of the reasons that he was chosen as Pope is because of his global exposure and global understanding, not just from his time spent in Peru but also from his experience as Prior General of the Order of Saint Augustine. He traveled to many different places in this role and gained an understanding of the different cultures that are part of the body of Christ and of the Church, and the different voices that exist and challenge us to think differently.

Pope Leo XIII was known as the "Pope of the East." He was actually listening to many of the patriarchs at the time who were opposed to a lot of the colonization that was happening—and Latinization. So, in my mind, it's notable that one of Pope Leo XIV's first addresses was to the Eastern Catholic Churches and that his first papal visit was to celebrate the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea [an ecumenical council that was among the first efforts to attain theological consensus among Christians]. To me, it signals his recognition of the concentric circles of unity that are needed. First of all, we Catholics have to figure out our own unity. But then what does it mean to be in right relationship with Churches that have equal dignity in terms of their apostolic heritage and have drifted away for historical reasons? I think Pope Leo XIV is trying to listen to the cry of our generation, and younger generations, and help us all discern what is the right response.

There are a lot of noteworthy things about Pope Leo elevating Newman to be a Doctor of the Church. He was an Anglican by birth who converted to Roman Catholicism. He was someone from the English-speaking world—England specifically—not from continental Europe, and he was from the 19th century, which is relatively recent in this context. But the pope's action also highlighted Newman's role in education. He was a person of the university; an intellectual and a major figure in 19th-century theology. After Newman converted in 1845, he became a priest and was most famous for his writings. He had a voluminous product of writing on all kinds of issues, including his famous book called "The Idea of a University." At the Mass making him a Doctor of the Church during the Jubilee of Education, Pope Leo also made Newman the co-patron saint of Catholic education, alongside Saint Thomas Aquinas. Education is one of the major focuses of the Church, but it's also something Pope Leo has been formed by in important ways: as a seminary rector, seminary professor and as part of the Order of Saint Augustine, which values education highly. I think Pope Leo elevating Newman to a Doctor of the Church signifies the emphasis he is going to place on education during his papacy.

"The Greenland [acquisition] talk has roots in a real issue about the Northwest Passage. The receding sea ice, and the shipping lane that's been created up there because of that, brings the passage into contact with Greenland. And the point is, what are you going to do if the Russians—who cause all kinds of problems within those different, varied sovereignty claims—set up a base in northern Greenland now? Or even the Chinese? It is a real national security issue, one I would say is moderately critical, and I think the national security people understand what he's talking about. It's about maintaining control over the Northwest Passage."