Leo XIV: The new Pope is American but opposes Donald Trump and criticized his vice president.
The election of Robert Francis Prevost as the new Pope marked a historic milestone, as he became the first American to lead the Catholic Church. Continuing in the footsteps of Francis, the new Pope Leo XIV maintains a progressive stance that has put him in a position to compete with US President Donald Trump and his Cabinet.
Born in Chicago in 1955, Prevost, who from now on will take the name Leo XIV, was raised in a working-class Catholic family and began his ecclesiastical life in the Order of Saint Augustine (OSA) in 1977, making his solemn vows in 1981. His missionary vocation led him to preach in Peru , where he served as a parish priest, bishop, and teacher for nearly 20 years; an experience that was crucial for his identity and vision of politics and the role of the Church in the peripheries.
Despite being American, Leo XIV is closer to Latin America, as demonstrated in his presentation when he spoke directly to the Peruvian people. " If I may, I wish to greet my beloved diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where a faithful people accompanied their bishop and shared their faith to continue being the Church of Jesus Christ ," Leo XIV celebrated during his presentation from St. Peter's Basilica.
[NOW] "A faithful people has accompanied its bishop": Pope Leo XIV sent a greeting in Spanish to his "beloved" diocese in Peru.
? @VaticanNews https://t.co/SLXOKLaFCY pic.twitter.com/CkWsnWwRaf
These experiences led him to take a critical look at U.S. President Donald Trump 's policies, especially those related to migration. After Trump's inauguration for his second term, Prevost , while still a cardinal, spoke out against the return of the "Remain in Mexico" program and used his social media to denounce the plight of refugees.
The rift between Leo XIV and the Trump administration also manifested itself in a message the now Supreme Pontiff dedicated to Vice President J.D. Vance, in which he asserted that "one must first love one's family, then one's neighbor, one's community, one's fellow citizens, and only then the rest of the world." "J.D. Vance is wrong. Jesus does not ask us to rank our love for others," Prevost wrote in February, correcting the official for his political use of Christian values.
JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others https://t.co/hDKPKuMXmu via @NCRonline
— Robert Prevost (@drprevost) February 3, 2025
Despite this, the Casa Rosada celebrated the election of Prevost as the new Pope, although Donald Trump had expressed his support for the other American cardinal. In the days leading up to the conclave, Trump showed his support for Timothy Dolan , a conservative cardinal closer to his ideology. In fact, Prevost's last tweet was against the last meeting between Trump and the Salvadoran president, Nayib Bukele , regarding immigration policies. The then cardinal shared the words of an X user who, before the meeting between the two leaders, said: " Can't you see the suffering? Doesn't it bother your conscience? How can you remain silent? "
Furthermore, the choice of the name Leo XIV would further polarize Trump's agenda. In 1891, Leo XIII published the encyclical Rerum Novarum, a foundational text for Church Social Doctrine that advocates for workers' rights and social justice. Leo XIV's name and track record suggest that the new pope would seek to pursue an agenda against inequality, continuing the work begun by his predecessor.
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