“While we live, we will never see an American Pope!”

I was wrong and am happy to admit it.

Pope Leo XIV is the first Pope from the USA and if you know anything about me, you know I have some thoughts about it all. But, I think what we all need to do first is stop. Say a prayer for our Holy Father, and thank God for his providential care of his Church. “Hail Mary…Amen.”

Let me jump right into the deep end and start with a warning. The Pope is Catholic first and American second. Too many of us in the USA have that the other way around. We may have our worldviews shaped more by culture, politics, and by society than by Catholicism. 

A worldview tells us not only how people think about the world, life, truth, goodness, meaning, etc., but it also plays the main role in our underlying assumptions - and many assumptions which are not explicitly thought through. Ultimately, a worldview encompasses our philosophy of life and our unconscious ways of thinking about the world. In other words, it is a big deal.

An interesting thing about a worldview is this - most people aren’t even aware they have one. It is like a pair of glasses that affect how you see (and what you see), yet most don’t even know they have them on. Many Catholics aren’t wearing a fully Catholic pair of worldview glasses to see things. They might think they are, but are not.

So, we need to allow the Church (including the Papal magisterium) to help shape our worldview. How is that formation going for you? Have you allowed the culture to shape your view of important topics more than the Church’s official teachings? Do you listen more to your favorite online commentators and pundits (including this bald talking head) more than Scripture, Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium? If so, there is a problem and it is us.

Our hope is that our Catholic leaders are better formed and have a Catholic worldview. There is reason to believe this is the case with our new Pope. He is coming from a much different perspective than you or I. He is a missionary that has spent much of his adult life living near the poor of South America. He is also a bishop / Cardinal who has run a Vatican dicastery. He probably has a better Catholic lens to see things than you or I do.

He probably doesn't think like most Catholics in the USA.

Thus, when the Pope talks about immigration, he will challenge most of us. Many Americans can only see the world through a Western political dynamic rather than a Catholic one. They think about issues, like immigration, only as political or economic issues, and less as human and moral issues. Catholicism has a lot to say about immigration. But, it is an issue which requires a lot of nuance, understanding, and wisdom. There are competing principles that must be weighed. I suspect that when Pope Leo XIV takes up the topic of immigration, he will say what many other Popes have said before - and it will upset a lot of folks on the conservative side of American politics.

On life and family issues, I expect a different reaction. Pope Leo XIV is pro-life and pro-family. When he speaks about abortion, transgender issues, etc. I expect he is going to upset a lot of folks on the progressive side of American politics.

The Pope doesn’t exist to merely affirm your politics or worldview. He exists to lead God’s Church and pastor you. If you don’t allow him to challenge you, you are rejecting his God-given role and making yourself into a pseudo-magisterium of self.

Here is where we, the average Catholics, must make an important choice. 
We need to reject the framing of these issues as merely American political ones. We need to see them first as Catholics. This means prayerfully allowing the Holy Spirit to challenge us where we struggle. Catholicism needs to be seen through the lens of faith and not a political one.

When you are challenged by your pastors, be ok with the challenge. Maybe it is so we can grow. I remember getting upset at Catholic teaching at several points in my life. It is when I made the decision to open myself up, with a tiny kernel of humility that I could offer, to a God who knew better than I could by myself. It was freeing and yet so very very hard. It changed my heart and mind. It made me a better Catholic. This is still a slow ongoing process and I am the issue, not the Church's teaching.

So, Catholics in the USA - don’t expect that Pope Leo XIV is going to merely echo back everything you already believe and understand about the world. Don’t expect special treatment for the American Catholic Church. I suspect he will directly challenge our ways of thinking and our way of life. This, my brothers and sisters, is a very good thing we all need.

Finally - let us remember that the Pope is not our God. Only the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are. Popes are not worthy of worship. Popes are merely men. There are two lessons for us here.

1 - Stay close to Jesus. You need it.

2 - Pray for the Pope. He needs it.

Jesus, bless us. Jesus, bless your Church.

Jesus, bless Pope Leo XIV, the first Pope from America, not the first American Pope!