As the past week or so has shown, Pope Leo XIV has reaffirmed traditional Catholic teaching on marriage, the unborn, and homosexuality. Unsurprisingly, Pope Leo XIV’s reinforcement of Catholic doctrine regarding marriage, human life, and homosexuality has ruffled feathers among leftists and their media mouthpieces.
It’s been more than a week since Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected as the Successor of Saint Peter on May 8, taking on the title “Pope Leo XIV”.
Not too long after his election, some liberal mainstream media outlets have been quick to portray the new pontiff as a “progressive”, emphasizing Pope Prevost’s past disagreements with current US President Donald Trump on migration.
For example, leftist outlet Rolling Stone published an article the very day the pope was elected, with a title that read: “MAGA Melts Down Over New Pope’s Anti-Trump, Pro-Immigrant Social Media”.
Likewise, NBC News released a piece on May 10, titled, “LGBTQ Catholics hope Pope Leo XIV continues Francis’ legacy of acceptance”, claiming that “lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer faithful: hope that the new pope would “move in the same direction” as his predecessor, the late Pope Francis, on LGBTQ+ issues.
Yet, as the past week or so has shown, Pope Leo XIV has reaffirmed traditional Catholic teaching on marriage, the unborn, and homosexuality.
On May 16, the new pontiff declared that the family is premised on the “stable union between a man and a woman,” and that the unborn and elderly “enjoy dignity as God’s creatures”, NBC News reported.
“No one is exempted from striving to ensure respect for the dignity of every person, especially the most frail and vulnerable, from the unborn to the elderly, from the sick to the unemployed, citizens and immigrants alike,” Pope Leo XIV stated, in remarks cited by NBC News.
God willing, may Pope Leo XIV continue to persevere in defending the Deposit of Faith, despite opposition and even persecution by the enemies of Our Lord Jesus Christ. After all, Pope Leo XIV’s mission as pope is not to rehash motherhood statements from pro-LGBTQ+ group Human Rights Campaign, but to uphold and reaffirm Catholic teaching with clarity and conviction.
Furthermore, AP News reported the new pontiff as saying “decisively that women cannot be ordained as priests”. Quoting the new pontiff’s past comments about women priests, AP News added:
“I think we’re all familiar with the very significant and long tradition of the church, and that the apostolic tradition is something that has been spelled out very clearly, especially if you want to talk about the question of women’s ordination to the priesthood.”
Previously as Cardinal Prevost, Pope Leo XIV had proclaimed during the Synod on Synodality in October 2023 that “clericalizing women” is not the way to answer concerns about women’s role in the Church.
Unsurprisingly, Pope Leo XIV’s reinforcement of Catholic doctrine regarding marriage, human life, and homosexuality has ruffled feathers among leftists and their media mouthpieces.
For instance, leftist media outlet The Guardian published a piece on May 9, titled: “Unearthed comments from new pope alarm LGBTQ+ Catholics”.
In the article, The Guardian cited the then Cardinal Prevost as lamenting that “Western mass media is extraordinarily effective in fostering within the general public enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel – for example abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia”.
In another article titled “ Anti-Democratic, anti-trans Facebook posts of Pope Leo brother draw scrutiny”, The Guardian reported that one of the new pope’s older brothers, Louis Martin “Lou” Prevost, had erstwhile posted an anti-LGBTQ+ meme online with the text: “Your child isn’t trans – you’re just a shitty parent.”
Additionally, “The View” co-host Sunny Hostin, while alleging that she is a “devout Catholic”, expressed her concerns for the LGBTQ+ community on national television following Pope Leo XIV’s past statements regarding homosexuality.
“I’m a devout Catholic,” Hostin maintained.
“Look, I always think it’s exciting, to watch the conclave and look for the white smoke and the black smoke and just the ceremony of it and, you know, during these very trying times in our country, we certainly need spiritual leadership, because of some of the things that we’re experiencing. I’m a little concerned about this choice for the LGBTQ+ community,” she elaborated, according to Fox News.
Also, Hostin’s co-host on “The View”, Ana Navarro, who also claims to be Catholic, chimed in:
“In 2012 there were even a lot of American politicians who today are pro-gay marriage and pro-equal rights who were not, so maybe, you know, with the weight of the papacy and the idea that-he just said when he went out on the balcony that the church loves everyone and was inclusive in his first message so until we see otherwise, I think we need to pray and hope that he follows in Francis’ footsteps in being inclusive, forgiving, compassionate, welcoming, and speaking up for the marginalized.”
Interestingly, despite her reservations about Pope Leo XIV, Hostin subsequently declared that she “loves” after realizing his “black” heritage. As per the New York Post outlet:
“Hostin had previously expressed concerns about the new pontiff on Friday after his comments referencing the ‘homosexual lifestyle’ resurfaced. On Monday, she spoke more optimistically about Pope Leo after learning his maternal grandparents were described as ‘people of color’ on documents, with his grandfather’s original birthplace listed as Haiti. ‘There’s one other thing that’s very interesting to me because President Trump, as you remember, called Haiti a certain type of country,’ Hostin said. ‘As it turns out, our new American pope has Haitian and black roots! So, we actually have a black pope, apparently. It’s a chef’s kiss for me.”’”
(It is certainly striking how certain leftists, particularly the expedient ones (like how Hostin portrays herself to be), can change their views so easily.)
Religion isn’t a popularity contest, and his job is to uphold the tenets of the church that serve as the foundation for all its other work. That kind of constancy in an ever-changing world is a beautiful thing.
God willing, may Pope Leo XIV continue to persevere in defending the Deposit of Faith, despite opposition and even persecution by the enemies of Our Lord Jesus Christ. After all, Pope Leo XIV’s mission as pope is not to rehash motherhood statements from pro-LGBTQ+ group Human Rights Campaign, but to uphold and reaffirm Catholic teaching with clarity and conviction.
Even some non-Catholic columnists, such as Ingrid Jacques, think that the Pope should simply stick to traditional Catholic teaching, instead of trying to please the fads of the world.
For instance, in an op-ed for USA Today, Jacques observed:
“I’m not a Catholic. Nor am I a theologian by any means. But it strikes me as strange that our society strives to mold the church in its image – centuries of tradition and deeply held beliefs be damned.”
In another part of the article, Jacques proclaimed aptly:
“As I’m sure Pope Leo is well aware, surveys in recent years have shown a move to the left among many Catholics on some of these key cultural issues, including abortion, contraception and marriage. Yet, religion isn’t a popularity contest, and his job is to uphold the tenets of the church that serve as the foundation for all its other work. That kind of constancy in an ever-changing world is a beautiful thing.”
