On my own way, with Franja's directions

"We have a pope", echoed around the world when a shot was shown with Roman seagulls strolling gently on the roof and billowing white smoke from the Sistine Chapel. The excitement that accompanied this election - the feeling that 133 cardinals are making a decision important for the whole world, not just for 1,4 billion Catholics and not because of the geopolitical weight of the Vatican - is the legacy of Pope Francis. By making the papal ministry so close to the people, putting substance before form and deed before words, he set the boundary that divides "before" and "after".

And in the face of the conclave where his successor was chosen, numerous questions arose, as usual. Will the new pope continue on Francis' path? How to heal strong divisions in the Catholic Church between liberal and conservative currents? How will cardinals who hardly know each other come to a decision, that is, what will prevail? Will the first pope from Asia or the first black pope or the first pope from the United States sit on the Vatican throne?

This time the surprise was not as much as when José Mario Bergoglio appeared on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica, without the usual papal vestments, gave an improvisational speech, beginning with a smile, in a calm voice, with the most spontaneous: "Brothers and sisters, good evening. You all know that the task of the conclave was to give Rome a bishop. It seems that my brother cardinals went almost to the end of the world to find him... but here we are," and ended with "good night and sleep well." It was already dark outside.

This time the white smoke was seen earlier. As expected, however, Pope Leo XIV was elected on the second day and came from a (wider) circle of favorites.

For the sake of interest, this conclave was the most numerous in history, the most geographically diverse, and 108 of the 133 cardinals (under 80, that is, those who elect the pope) were appointed by Pope Francis. It took them 24 hours to elect a new pope, and it is rumored that he had significantly more than the required 89 votes.

photo: ap photo

BIOGRAPHY OF CARDINAL PREVOST

Excerpts from the new pope's biography say: Leo the Fourteenth was born in Chicago in 1955 – which is to say, young by papal standards; his parents are of Spanish and French-Italian origin; he completed basic studies in mathematics, master's studies in theology and a doctorate in canon law in Rome; he was ordained a priest in 1982, and three years later he joined the mission of the Order of St. Augustine in Peru, where, except for a two-year break, he stayed until 1999, then returned to Chicago, and then went to Peru again in 2014; Pope Francis named him bishop in 2015 and cardinal in 2023; he also placed him at the head of the Dicastery for Bishops, an important body that oversees the appointment of new bishops. One could say with peace of mind - Franji's staff.

As is well known, he is the first American and the first Augustinian to become Pope; he also has the citizenship of Peru, where they consider him one of their own, and he retorts to them with the words - Peru is my second homeland. He is generally described as a modest, withdrawn, extremely intelligent man who does not say much, but thinks carefully about what he says.

He chose the name carefully: his eponymous predecessor, Leo XIII, wrote the important encyclical "Rerum novarum" on the rights of workers, which deals with issues of social and economic justice. Prevost is also very much occupied by social issues, as well as environmental ones. He is deeply immersed in missionary work, but he also has managerial skills, which is a trait that is currently badly needed in the Vatican.

The reason why they did not see him as a strong candidate for the papal throne was precisely his nationality - America, in the eyes of the Holy See, is too influential on the international stage anyway. However, Prevost is not an American who will shout "Let's make America great again" with Trump, and support the views of the new American administration on migrants. On the contrary.

Prevost's tweet is persistently circulating on the X social network (although there is no official confirmation, apparently it really is the former X account of the current pope) in which he comments on an interview with US Vice President JD Vance: "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus does not ask us to rank love for others", and in another post he writes: "Catholics cannot support rhetoric that demonizes immigrants as dangerous criminals simply because they crossed the border in search of a better life for themselves and their families".

One of his fellow students warned Americans not to view him as an American pope, but as a pope who happened to be born in the United States.

In other words, his life so far shows that, which is a great similarity with Pope Francis, Pope Leo XIV is also turned towards the people, the rejected, the poor, the nobodys... In the media, there are photos from Peru in which, for example, Prevost is sharing food in a soup kitchen or in plastic boots in a flooded street of a poor neighborhood talking to workers. He sees that this is a person aware of the reality of life and the world, and not an alienated, dry dignitary who last rode public transport when he was a student.

VATICAN DETECTIVES

photo: ap photo

The optimism of the progressives that the reforms started by Pope Francis will continue is met with the, admittedly much milder, optimism of traditional, conservative circles - in which Pope Francis had enormous resistance - that the Prevost will be the one who will return "doctrinal rigor" to the papacy. Finally, others see him as a pope above divisions, that is, one who will heal divisions.

And so, like in a detective novel, clues are hunted: every tweet of his in the past years, his earlier statements are examined, family members are interviewed, an answer is sought in a multitude of details. Let's say, how he was dressed when he went out on the balcony (yes, he wore a red mozetta, like those before Pope Francis), where he will live (the news just arrived - he chose the Apostolic Palace, like everyone before Francis, and not a much more modest guest house where there could be no privacy, and where Francis lived); he read his first speech from paper (not like Francis who spoke from his head), he does not have the spontaneity of his predecessor, a spontaneity that many conservatives saw as inappropriate for a pope... We can go on like this for a long time. In these details, conservatives see a return to tradition and the hope that doctrine will once again be at the center.

Again, on the other hand, this list could look completely different. For example, in his first speech, Pope Leo XIV spent half the time talking about Pope Francis, and his language was simple and clear, receptive to everyone.

Touched, giving an impression of authentic modesty, he said: "We can still hear the weak but always courageous voice of Pope Francis blessing Rome, the pope who blessed Rome, who blessed the world, the whole world, on Easter morning. Let me send that same blessing: God loves us, God loves you all, and evil will not win! We are all in God's hands. So, let us move forward, without fear, together, hand in hand with God and with each other! We are followers Christ (…) Help us, all together, to build bridges through dialogue and encounter, united as one nation, always in peace. Thank you, Pope Francis!" And then: "I am an Augustinian, the son of Saint Augustine, who once said: With you I am a Christian, and for you I am a bishop."

Also, the progressives base their hope - apart from Prevost's impressive missionary work so far - on the mentioned fact that it was Pope Francis who called Prevost from the far corners of Peru and appointed him to such an important position in the Vatican. He must have known who he was calling.

photo: ap photo

FRANCIS 1.5

If we were to summarize these first days, along with the previous journey of Pope Leo XIV, it could be said that this is not Francis 2.0, but neither is it a pope who will swing the pendulum of changes in the Church back. One of the Vatican analysts wrote that the Prevost, in this sense, is Francis 1.5, and that he will continue his path, but more moderately. If it is about the change of the papacy, about the Church that sees man, Leo XIV is the true successor of his predecessor; if we are talking about reform within the Catholic Church, the matter is already more complicated.

Cardinal Gerhard Müller, one of the leading cardinals of the "hard current" - who, by the way, was removed by Pope Francis from the position of prefect of the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith - said that he is very satisfied with the election of Pope Leo XIV, and that he expects that he will heal the divisions that flared up during the pontificate of his predecessor, adding that he expects that the first step should be the return of the Latin Mass according to the older rite.

There are also rumours, although there is no clear evidence or confirmation of this, that one evening before the conclave the Prevost was seen entering the building where Cardinal Raymond Burke was housed - another conservative who was removed from an important position in the Vatican by Pope Francis - so the story was further developed that the influential Burke talked to all the more progressive cardinals with somewhat more certain chances, aware that those from his camp did not have that chance, so the conversation with the Prevost convinced him that he was the most moderate. And that's how Prevost got the votes of conservative circles. He certainly had the votes of cardinals from the Global South - they see him as their own, more than an American, as well as the votes of others who follow Francis' course.

Of course, all this is in the realm of pure speculation, which, in the end, doesn't matter at all. Why?

LOADING EXPECTATIONS

Even so, to begin with, one should not lose sight of one fact - Pope Francis and Cardinal José Mario Bergoglio are not the same person, just as they are not Cardinal Robert Prevost, whom friends call Bob, and Pope Leo XIV. It happens that, faced with so much power and responsibility - whether it is the leaders of states or religious communities - people change. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. Pope Francis was considered more conservative and strict in Buenos Aires, and then, finding himself in the Vatican, he became an ambassador of grace and joy. Whatever Prevost was, whatever he is these days, it cannot be said with certainty how he will lead the Catholic Church, how he will respond to the temptations that will arise, to geopolitical movements and Vatican currents.

And this should not be overlooked either: as one New York journalist wrote, the Catholic Church has existed for almost 2000 years, while the left/right political spectrum only dates back to the time of the French Revolution, which means a little more than 200 years. In other words: people are not divided like numbers, so that the division into left and right is completely precise, everyone has their own package of values ​​and that's it. It is not about a simple binary division, but about complex issues and the movement of the individual along that axis. Thus, as "Vreme" already wrote, Francis was too progressive for some, conservative for others. For example, he was criticized by feminists for his opposition to the ordination of women - a similar stance was held by the current pope as a cardinal - as well as for his stance on gender-sensitive language. On the other hand, Pope Francis has appointed women to some of the leading positions in the Vatican, strongly advocated for the rights of migrants, harshly criticized capitalism (which made his critics say he sounded like a Marxist), actively cared about the environment and worked on those issues.

Also, there is constant writing about divisions within the Catholic Church. This is not new - first, every attempt to change brings with it divisions between those who are ready for change, in this case greater openness to the world, and those who see it as a deviation from the right path. Secondly, during the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church went through more heated debates than they are today. The very fact that there are different views speaks of something very good - people in that Church are allowed to say what they think, even to criticize their leader, as was the case with the pontificate of Pope Francis.

Finally, what Francis was revolutionary in was not the change of doctrine but the opening of the Church to the world and placing the little man in the center, and it seems that Pope Leo XIV will faithfully follow him in this. Connoisseurs of the Vatican situation were able to criticize Pope Francis for not building a clear system that would preserve what had been achieved in the pastoral sense even after him. However, he invested in people who would live his motto that shepherds should smell the sheep very faithfully. If one of them is the future pope, and he is, that is no small matter. Everything else, for now, is loading your expectations on Pope Leo XIV.