May 20, 2025 // Perspective

An American Pope?

OSV NEWS

By Marcel LeJeune

“While we live, we will never see an American Pope!”

I was wrong and am happy to admit it.

Let me jump right into the deep end and begin with a warning. The pope is Catholic first and American second. Too many of us in the U.S. have that the other way around. We may have our worldviews shaped more by culture, politics, and society than by Catholicism. 

An interesting thing about a worldview is this: Most people aren’t even aware they have one. It is like a pair of glasses that affect how you see (and what you see), yet most don’t even know they have them on. Many Catholics aren’t wearing a fully Catholic pair of glasses to see things. They might think they are, but they are not.

So, we need to allow the Church (including the papal magisterium) to help shape our worldview. How is that formation going for you? Have you allowed the culture to shape your view of important topics more than the Church’s official teachings? If so, there is a problem – and it is us.

Our hope is that our Catholic leaders are better formed and have a Catholic worldview. There is reason to believe this is the case with our new pope. He is coming from a much different perspective than you or me. He was a missionary who spent much of his adult life living near and among the poor of South America. He was also a bishop and a cardinal who ran a Vatican dicastery. He probably has a better Catholic lens to see things than you or I do.

He probably doesn’t think like most Catholics in the United States.

Thus, when the pope talks about immigration, he will challenge most of us. Many Americans can only see the world through a Western political dynamic rather than a Catholic one. They think about issues, like immigration, only as political or economic issues and less as human and moral issues. Catholicism has a lot to say about immigration. It is an issue that requires a lot of nuance, understanding, and wisdom. There are competing principles that must be weighed. I suspect that when Pope Leo XIV takes up the topic of immigration, he will say what many other popes have said before – and it will upset a lot of folks on the conservative side of American politics.

On life and family issues, I expect a different reaction. Pope Leo XIV is pro-life and pro-family. When he speaks about abortion, transgender issues, etc., I expect he is going to upset a lot of folks on the progressive side of American politics.

The pope doesn’t exist to affirm your politics or worldview. He exists to lead God’s Church – and to pastor you. If you don’t allow him to challenge you, you are rejecting his God-given role and making yourself into a pseudo-magisterium of self.

Here is where we, the average Catholics, must make an important choice. We need to reject the framing of these issues as merely American political ones. We need to see them first as Catholics. This means prayerfully allowing the Holy Spirit to challenge us where we struggle. Catholicism needs to be seen through the lens of faith and not politics.

When you are challenged by your pastors, be OK with the challenge. Maybe it is so we can grow. I remember getting upset at Catholic teaching at several points in my life. It is when I made the decision to open myself up, with a tiny kernel of humility, to a God who knew better than I could by myself.

So, American Catholics, don’t expect that Pope Leo is going to merely echo back everything you already believe about the world. I suspect he will directly challenge our ways of thinking. This, my brothers and sisters, is a very good thing we all need.

Finally, let us remember that the pope is not our God. Only the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are. Popes are not worthy of worship. There are two lessons for us here. 1. Stay close to Jesus; you need it. 2. Pray for the pope; he needs it.

Jesus, bless us. Jesus, bless your Church.

Jesus, bless Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from America, not the first American pope!

Marcel LeJeune is the president and founder of Catholic Missionary Disciples.