Who is Robert Francis Prevost, the Cardinal of the New Pope? Knowledge about Leo XIV
Robert Francis Prevost was elected by 133 Cardinals on Thursday, leading the world's 1.4 billion Roman Catholics. He was the first pope in the United States and he chose the name Leo Xiv.
It's about the new pope, how he was chosen and the problems he faced as the successor of Pope Francis, who died last month at 88.
Who is the new pope?
Robert Francis Prevost, 69, was born in Chicago and served in Peru for twenty years, where he became a bishop and naturalized citizen, and then raised his international religious order. Prior to the death of his former Pope Francis, he held one of the most influential Vatican positions, selecting and managing the bishop’s offices worldwide.
He was a member of the Order of St. Augustine, meeting with Francis’ commitment to the poor and immigrants and with those whom they are. He told the Vatican official news website last year that “the bishop should not be the little prince sitting in his kingdom.”
He spent most of his life outside the United States. He was appointed on 27th 1982 to receive his Ph.D. in Canon from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. In Peru, he was a missionary, parish pastor, teacher and bishop. As the leader of the Augustinians, he visited orders from all over the world. He also speaks Spanish and Italian.
Where is he standing on the main question?
He is often described as reserved and cautious, and he will leave in the style of Francis as Pope. Supporters believe he will likely continue the consultation process started by Francis to invite laymen to meet with the bishop.
It is unclear whether he will be open to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics like Frances does. Although he hasn't said much recently, in his 2012 speech to the Bishop, he lamented that Western news media and popular culture have promoted “sympathy for faith and practice that contradicts the gospel.” He cites “same-sex lifestyle” and “alternative families composed of same-sex couples and their adopted children.”
Like many other cardinals, he criticized his dealings with pastors accused of sexual abuse.
Who chose the new pope?
Francis' successor was selected at a meeting that began on May 7. The Cardinal (known as the “Prince of the Church”) was under the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church. Together they are called Cardinal College. There are currently 252 cardinals. Only those under the age of 80 are eligible to vote, with 135 of them being the largest number in the history of the church. Pope Francis appointed about 80% of them.
When the pope dies or steps on unusual circumstances, the academy chooses a successor. The Cardinal repeated the vote until the two-thirds majority. After each vote, the voting documents burn in the stove and produce additives of color. The smoke is released through the chimney and can be seen from St. Peter's Square, where crowds usually gather to watch and wait. If the vote ends without a two-thirds majority, the smoke is black. When a decision is made, the smoke is white.
How long will it take him to be elected?
The length of the Pope's conclusions has changed greatly over the centuries. Since 1900, it is the fifth pope elected in two days.
The longest meeting at that time took place 14 votes, lasting five days, and in 1922, the Pope Asylum 11 was produced. Francis was elected two days after the vote.
The shortest meeting was the election of Pope Pius XII in 1939, with three votes being held. But it wasn't always so fast: on September 1, 1271, the election of Pope Gregory X ended, which took two years, nine months and two days.
What are the key issues of the Catholic Church?
The Cardinal must decide whether to choose a pope, will he follow Francis’s path of openness and inclusion or choose a pope who forges others. Francis has made a landmark declaration during his 12-year religious campaign, encouraging liberals, including allowing people in same-sex unions to bless and raise their voices for immigrants.
Cardinals who elected the pope sometimes look as polarized as many secular voters around the world. Many conservative Roman Catholic leaders disagreed with Francis.
But the typical division between progressives and conservatives is not as neatly versus ideological struggles within the Vatican and the wider church. There is a complex debate over the role of women and LGBTQ Catholics in the church, whether pastors should be allowed to marry, the responsibility of clergy for sexual abuse and other separatist issues.
