Time Magazine (holy shit that’s still around) did a write up on the new Pope
The LGBTQ+ Catholic Community
The Catholic Church has been firm on its stance that homesexuality is a sin, and same-sex couples cannot be married within the Church.
But in October 2023, a letter by Francis in support of the
blessings of same-sex unions on a case-by-case basis was made public. “We cannot be judges who only deny, push back and exclude,” Francis wrote to a group of conservative cardinals. “As such, pastoral prudence must adequately discern whether there are forms of blessing, requested by one or several people, that do not convey a wrong idea of a matrimony. Because when one seeks a blessing, one is requesting help from God.”
Leo’s stance on LGBTQ+ Catholics marks a departure from the late pontiff, according to the College of Cardinals
report. In October 2024, Prevost voiced the need for greater conversations between each “episcopal conference” to discuss the blessings and apply them in a way that aligned with cultural differences across the globe as some countries still criminalize homsexuality.
Helping migrants
Pope Leo’s stance on migrants falls in line with that of Francis. Jesus Leon Angeles, a coordinator of a Peruvian Catholic group who personally knows Prevost,
told Reuters that the new pontiff had always shown care for Venezuelan migrants in Peru. More than 1.5 million Venezuelan migrants live in the South American country as a result of economic instability.
Francis was a strong supporter of migrants, expressing his support for the community in a
February letter to U.S. bishops. The letter came after the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, which has been marked by
calls for mass deportation, attempts to end
birthright citizenship, an
undocumented immigrant registry, and other anti-immigrant policies and
rhetoric. “Your work in defending migrants is deeply rooted in the mission of Christ and the history of the Church,” Francis wrote. “The legitimate regulation of migration must never undermine the essential dignity of the person.”
Equality for Women
Pope Leo has been firm in his stance against the ordainment of women, falling in line with Pope Francis’ own opinion.
“Something that needs to be said also is that ordaining women — and there’s been some women that have said this interestingly enough — ‘clericalizing women’ doesn’t necessarily solve a problem, it might make a new problem,” he
said in October 2023 during the Synod on Synodality.
However, he did point to the appointment of women to higher leadership positions under Francis as evidence that women contribute “a great deal to the life of the Church.”
Pope Francis similarly signaled greater support for women in leadership throughout his 12-year papacy, giving them the right to vote during synods and appointing women to senior positions, while noting that they could not become priests.
Still, Francis made pointed actions to show his support. In 2024, he washed the feet of Roman prisoners from a female prison, marking the first time a Pope had only washed the feet of women.
Climate Change
Pope Leo will continue Francis’ legacy as a steward of climate change. The pontiff has made statements calling for the Church to take greater action against the destruction of the planet. “Dominion over nature” should not be “tyrannical,” he
said during a November seminar, instead emphasizing the need for a more reciprocal relationship with the Earth.
The seminar came about at the request of Pope Francis, who
called on the Church to act with “compassion” in regards to climate change, referring to the mistreatment of the planet as a “structural sin.” The late pontiff made connections between climate change and its
disproportionate impact on the developing world.
“We are faced not with two separate crises, one environmental and the other social,” Francis wrote. “But rather with one complex crisis which is both social and environmental."
