General Discussion on Pope Leo
We have had discussions on Pope Leo and Patriarch Bartholemew praying together. We have also had one on Leo and King Charles Praying together. And then there was one of how Leo and Lutheran ELCA Bishop Curry came from the same neighborhood, or there abouts.
I just thought I would place a general thread up on the activities of Pope Leo so we can refer back to it from time to time and add things as they come up.
Like the appointment of Bishop Ronald Hicks as the new Archbishop of New York, replacing Archbishop Dolan. Dolan has long been considered quite conservative. Hicks is a man of a different cloth Hicks has a strong record of supporting the Immigrant communities within the Chicago area. This looks like another poke at Trump. On the other hand Hicks will take on the largest settlement of the sex scandals that have plagued the Roman Church.
Should I mention Hicks grew up 14 blocks from where Leo grew up. Hicks himself said they used to play in the same parks and went to the same swimming pools? Naw, I will not get into that. https://www.ncregister.com/cna/new-new-york-archbishop-ronald-hicks
Leo is going to be around a while. I think we should have a thread dedicated to him
I just thought I would place a general thread up on the activities of Pope Leo so we can refer back to it from time to time and add things as they come up.
Like the appointment of Bishop Ronald Hicks as the new Archbishop of New York, replacing Archbishop Dolan. Dolan has long been considered quite conservative. Hicks is a man of a different cloth Hicks has a strong record of supporting the Immigrant communities within the Chicago area. This looks like another poke at Trump. On the other hand Hicks will take on the largest settlement of the sex scandals that have plagued the Roman Church.
Should I mention Hicks grew up 14 blocks from where Leo grew up. Hicks himself said they used to play in the same parks and went to the same swimming pools? Naw, I will not get into that. https://www.ncregister.com/cna/new-new-york-archbishop-ronald-hicks
Leo is going to be around a while. I think we should have a thread dedicated to him
Comments
For complicated socioeconomic reasons, the RCC has a material interest in promoting migration from the global south to the global north, so I wouldn't neccessarily read too much into Leo XIV's defense of freer movement. Having the criticism coming from an American, not to mention one hailing from a pop-culture friendly city like Chicago, celebrated for its blue-collar ethnic panache, does add a bit of a dramatic undertone to the proceedings.
With a name like that he was always going to be well up the candle.
The Bishops' lead on Social Action, and heavily involved with prisons. Was Bishop of the Armed Forces so travelled to Afghanistan etc.
An interesting choice.
Sure. But it also doesn't hurt that in the USA, Catholicism has historically been a faith favoured by new-stock immigrants, who might a) send remittances back to the struggling economies of their often Catholic-majority homelands, and b) infuse American parishes with numbers not generally provided by the more indifferent native-born persuadees.
There are already more English cardinals than at any point in history, so maybe he will wait for one to pass on first. Three of the four are 80+.
Interesting. The retirement age for Catholic cardinals is 75 years old. According to Canon 401 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, all bishops, including cardinals, must submit their resignation to the Pope upon reaching this age. Additionally, a decree from Paul VI established that only cardinals who have not reached the age of 80 can participate in a conclave. However, given Leo's current age, and his vitality, I doubt we will see another conclave for quite some time--God willing.
Certainly they would have to resign their bishoprics or other administrative offices but I think that the title would remain.
True, and they are still available for consultations like the one Leo has called in January with all the cardinals. But they can still vote in papal elections up to 80 and Vincent Nichols and Timothy Radcliffe did in Leo's election.
Indeed. According to Pew Research, "More than four-in-ten U.S. Catholics are immigrants (29%) or the children of immigrants (14%)" (https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/03/04/10-facts-about-us-catholics/). Immigrants are literally their people.
Maybe, but I don’t really see a need to drag in ulterior motives when basic Christian morality in a time of extreme cruelty toward the weak and downtrodden explains it well enough.
Exactly.
Are you talking about Hicks saying he grew up in the same neighborhood as Leo did? It is Hicks that made that connection, not me. I cited the source I took the quote from. I made a similar comment about Leo and Curry, true.
Yes, Leo spent most of his public ministry in Peru. Yes, he represents a universal church in his eyes. But ultimately, he grew up as a kid in the Southside of Chicago--which, in itself is a cosmopolitan city.
I would say all three men bring unique contributions to the church as a whole. Leo for his South American ministry with emphasis on immigration issues and ecumenical possibilities. Hicks also has five years of ministry in Central America. From what I have read, it seems he is very pastoral in his ministries. Curry, on the other hand, has had extensive experience as a community organizer (someone else had a similar background--hint last name is Obama). I would say Curry's inner-city experience is just as challenging as the other two men.
To borrow a phrase: can anything good come out of Chicago? I would say there are three, or four people that come to my mind now.
But that's the baddest part of town...
You got it.
Actually, we might both be 100% correct, in a base vs. superstructure sorta way. If we strip it down to just straight reportage, I think we'd both be saying the same thing:
The Roman Catholic Church in the USA has long promoted and enabled immigration from poorer parts of the world.
(Anyone wishing to rebut with "But so does the Society Of Friends!" is invited to see how far they get googling "Quakers and Tammany Hall".)
I’ve done this and I am none the wiser ?
It was a metonym for the RCC's active promotion of immigration in US history, and its subsequent impact on the church's social and political standing.
Okay. Let's do it this way. You wrote...
Do you think that that could just as easily be reversed, and I could say to you "I don't see a need to bring in religious motivations when basic self-interest will do?"
As I understand him, Leo doesn't support ordination for women but wants more women in non-clerical management positions in the Church. Not sure how that will pan out.
If you want, you can reply to my last question on a new thread I'll be starting forthwith.
Not without imputing bad motives to the current Pope. If I might err, I’d rather err, as @Lamb Chopped said on the new thread linked below, on the side of charity.
Pope Leo XIV on Friday named the Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, currently pastor of a predominantly Hispanic church in the Queens borough of New York City, as bishop of Palm Beach, Florida.
The diocese is home to the Mar-a-Lago estate of President Donald Trump, whose get-tough immigration policies have drawn objections from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Rodriguez is known for being pro immigration as well.
Do you think Leo is trying to tell Trump something?
I know, I know. You catch more flies with sugar than with salt. But, given the church we're talking about, I'd say it's pretty likely that Rodriguez does actually believe that Trump is otherwise the cat's meow.
And as the article says, in the RCC, even the ultra-conservatives are pro-migrant. So all in all, given what I'd assume to be the general characteristic of the talent pool available, this might not be a particularly remarkable appointmentment.
(Question, though. Were Rodriguez's criticism of Trump's policies more voluminous and/or more publicized than that of other Catholic clergy? If so, MAYBE this could be a poke in the eye to Trump. Personally, I don't think I had heard of him or his opinions before, but I don't follow Catholic staffing matters generally.)