A Pope from the USA was chosen for the first time. Criticism of Trump's address from Louis XIV is circulating on social networks.
The new Pope has been elected. The Conclave of Cardinals decided quite quickly and after several unsuccessful elections, the world found out through the white smoke that the new head of the Catholic Church would be a man originally from Chicago. For the first time, an American from the USA is Pope. The world quickly started looking into what kind of relationship he has with the current controversial US President, Donald Trump. Soon after, a critical post by Cardinal Robert F. Prevost was widely shared on social networks.
Although Robert F. Prevost was among the strong candidates, he was not among the major favorites before the papal election and was considered somewhat of a compromise candidate. He was indeed among the supporters of the somewhat unorthodox concept of the papacy of the previous Roman pontiff, Francis, but at the same time, he is closer to conservative Catholics.
According to some forecasts, his name was to come to the fore in the conclave in case the cardinals cannot agree on one of the favored candidates. This scenario may have somewhat happened in the hermetically sealed Sistine Chapel, where the electoral meeting of cardinals takes place, when a pope was not elected in several initial rounds.
The newly elected Pope is from the USA, but holds Peruvian citizenship
Even so, the resolution of the cardinals took 26 hours, making it one of the faster ones, as the highest representatives often argue for many days. No wonder, the chance to take the papal throne comes for many of them only once in a lifetime. Candidates are usually around sixty or even seventy, so by the time the elected Pope lives, their age does not give them many chances to be elected at the next conclave.
Similarly as last time, a candidate from South America was unprecedentedly elected for the first time, this time the precedent about a pope from the USA was broken. Cardinals unofficially resisted this election because, according to some interpretations, it is not appropriate for the pope to come from the most powerful country in the world, which does not need any other stop in a specific office.
In the case of Robert F. Prevost, the fact that he spent half of his life as a missionary in Peru probably worked, and he also has Peruvian citizenship, thereby reducing his connection with his native power-oriented country. The USA is going through a political earthquake in recent months caused by the presidency of Donald Trump and therefore the relationship of the pope to the current president of the USA is a burning issue.
The Pope as an opponent of Trump, however he may keep his opinions to himself
"According to reports, the new Pope is quite a strong opponent of Donald Trump, J.D. Vance, and their politics. I expect a 2000% tariff on Vatican merch tomorrow,"
joked about the relationship between the Pope and the American president, the investor, commentator, and member of the Pirate Party Jiří Hlavenka.
He also shared a photo of a post in which criticism of Trump appeared, which Prevost reshared earlier this year in April. The Church is particularly resonating with the harsh deportations of immigrants from the USA carried out by Trump's administration, which according to the local courts' statements are being conducted illegally.
However, Trump has not yet added any controversial fuel to the fire in the context of electing a new pope and commented on the new bishop of Rome as a "great honor for our country". Although it would be spicy to watch a frontal attack led by the words of an American pope directly on Trump, such a thing would be a big surprise. Prevost, after all, succeeded in the election thanks to his compromise.
"The Prevost is considered an exceptional leader. From a very young age, he was appointed to leadership positions. He is perceived as someone who is calm and balanced, who is impartial and who has a very clear idea of what needs to be done..., but he is not too vehement in trying to enforce it,"
commented for CNN the Vatican correspondent of the American television, Ellise Allenová, about the personality of the new pope.
On the other hand, nothing prevents the new Pope from surprising. Although the Cardinals elected him with the vision that they would not have to regularly ward off waves of liberalization from their own ranks, as demonstrated by the recently deceased Pope Francis, the current smoke signals can easily be overcast by a new wind from the American tenant of the Vatican palaces.
Sources: author's text, commentary, CNN, BBC, novinky.cz, X.com
