I was in St. Peter’s Square earlier today, filled with emotion when white smoke emerged from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel. When it was announced that Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, O.S.A., a Chicago-born Augustinian who had spent most of his ministry in Peru, had been elected pope, I was filled with a sense of awe. After all, conventional wisdom had held for so long that an American would never be elected pope. Then my thoughts turned to, what does this mean for the church, the world and the LGBTQ community?
The short answer is, we just don’t know.
Little is known right now about the new pope’s views on a range of issues, including the place of LGBTQ people in the church. But in his blessing tonight, the new pope prayed for peace, thanked Pope Francis and called for the church to continue along the synodal path. Those are all signs that Leo will be a pope in the mold of Francis.
When I scanned an account on X that appeared to belong to Cardinal Prevost, I saw that he had shared articles about a range of issues, including the protection of migrants, condemnations of racism and encouragements about the late pope’s signature pastoral initiative, the Synod on Synodality. Again, more signs that Leo XIV may look to Francis for inspiration as he begins to govern the church.
For now, there is one comment from Leo XIV about homosexuality that was unearthed earlier this week by The New York Times, in which he decried media representation positively portraying a number of issues “at odds with the Gospel,” including a “homosexual lifestyle.” The remark was made in 2012, a year before the election of Pope Francis. Two LGBTQ Catholic ministries, New Ways Ministry and DignityUSA, have understandably expressed concern about the comment.
James Martin, S.J., founder of Outreach, took to X to offer support for the new pope, writing, “I know Pope Leo XIV to be a kind, open, humble, modest, decisive, hard-working, straightforward, trustworthy, and down-to-earth man. A brilliant choice. May God bless him.”
So what are we, as LGBTQ Catholics, to make of the new pope?
First, I take comfort in knowing that the night Pope Francis was elected, initial reports suggested he would be hostile to the LGBTQ community. He had made remarks seen as discriminatory and held positions that put him at odds with LGBTQ leaders in his native Argentina. But as the weeks went on, we learned more about his previous outreach to LGBT Catholics that had not been as widely known, and then, the then-new pope used his own words to express his support for LGBTQ Catholics. Over the course of his papacy, he reached out to many LGBTQ Catholics personally and he came to be considered an ally by many.
Next, I will continue to listen to the words of Leo XIV. What he says and does in the coming days, weeks, months and years will offer a more complete picture of his views on a whole range of issues, including, perhaps, outreach to LGBTQ people.
Tonight, I am joining with other Catholics around the world in praying for the new pope, who takes on a difficult job in a hurt world. If his first words as pope are any indication, it seems Leo knows the importance of what lies ahead for him.
