New Pope Holding First Mass After Criticism And Facing Global Challenges

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent, Worthy News

WASHINGTON/VATICAN CITY (Worthy News) – Newly elected Pope Leo XIV, who has come under fire from influential supporters of U.S. President Donald J. Trump, echoes sentiments of his predecessor saying “the [Catholic] Church should be judged by the holiness of its members, and not the grandeur of her buildings.”

Speaking in his first Mass as the first ever U.S. pontiff, Pope Leo, previously known as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, stressed he hopes the Church will bring light to “dark nights of this world”.

He pledged to be a “faithful administrator” of the Catholic Church, which claims to have 1.4 billion members.

Pope Leo spoke after John Prevost publicly predicted that his brother would likely be “a second Pope Francis.” Prevost’s words raised concerns among Trump supporters.

Regularly in President Trump’s ear, online influencer Laura Loomer wrote on social media of the new pontiff: “WOKE MARXIST POPE.”

Hardcore Trump supporter Ryan Selkis, a former cryptocurrency CEO, shared past social media posts believed to be from the new pope.

They included support for George Floyd, whose confrontation with police sparked the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and criticism of Trump’s “family separation policy.”

‘WOKE POPE’

Selkis concluded: “A new woke pope. BLM. Kids in cages. Suicidal empathy. American who mostly posts en espanol.”

Critics also refer to past comments then-Cardinal Prevost made before he became pope, including sharing a column on social media about U.S. Vice President JD Vance that included the headline, “JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn’t ask us to rank our love for others.”

That was a setback for Vance, a recent convert to Catholicism who had previously faced criticism from Pope Francis.

Also in 2015, Prevost shared a Washington Post opinion column written by Cardinal Timothy Dolan titled “Why Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric is so problematic.”

Yet at least some believers celebrated in Chicago, Pope Leo’s home city.

John Prevost said his brother’s path to the pope began at a young age. He went straight into seminary after eighth grade.

“So, the whole high school years, college years, we didn’t really know him other than the summer vacation,” he told Chicago-based broadcaster FOX 32.

SUSPECTED FRONTRUNNER

Pope Leo was a suspected frontrunner to succeed Pope Francis after his passing late last month. Prevost said he had an “inkling” his brother was in the running after hearing his description on the radio.

“They were interviewing someone on the radio, and she said there are two likely candidates: One of the cardinals from the Philippines, and one is a cardinal, as a matter of fact, from the Chicago area. He was a missionary in Peru, and now he’s a cardinal in Rome,” Prevost said.

But it did not come as a surprise, as Prevost recalled the boys’ childhood neighbors predicting the younger Prevost would one day become the “first American pope.”

“The interesting thing is way back when he was in kindergarten or first grade, there was a parent, a mom, across the street — one across the street that way and another down the street,” John Prevost, told media on Thursday. “Both of them said he would be the first American pope at that age.”

Now, decades later, Pope Leo will face a challenge to unite the Catholic Church behind what conservatives fear will be left-leaning liberal views.

He also faces a world in turmoil that, in U.S. Evangelist Franklin Graham’s words, needs urgent prayer. “With the recent clashes between India and Pakistan, the fighting between Russia and Ukraine, conflict in the Middle East, Iran providing missiles to the Houthis, and Christians being murdered in Syria at the hands of Islamists, it feels as though the world is on the verge of exploding,” stressed Graham who met previous Pope Francis.

“It could only take one spark. Therefore, we need to pray that God’s hand would intervene and bring His peace that passes all understanding, and for His will to be done,” Graham added.

He said he had been encouraged that 7,752 people, including at least one former crime boss, were baptized in the Pacific Ocean on the California coast. “That’s news I like to read. Thousands gathered to worship, and many declared their faith in Jesus Christ,” Graham remarked.

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