see any cardinal who wishes to meet him — a notable difference to Francis, who tended to shut out his critics. Pope Leo has, therefore, held private


meetings with Cardinals Raymond Burke, Gerhard Müller, Robert Sarah, and others, all of whom had fallen foul of the previous pontificate by standing on principle. The general thrust of Leo’s pon-


tificate, however, has so far been one of continuity with the teachings and direction of Francis, despite the divi- siveness much of his leadership en- gendered. He has praised many of Francis’ teachings, and shown a willingness to support synodality. He has continued Francis’ strong emphasis on defending migrants, along with protecting the environment — even to the point of blessing a block of ice in a bid to have world leaders act


64 NEWSMAX | MAY 2026


against climate change — a gesture that drew considerable opprobrium. In the area of global diplomacy, Pope


Leo has been active, cautious, and gen- erally well regarded. His customary new year speech to


diplomats was widely praised as a se- rious Augustinian critique of war and power with very concrete, even blunt, language about “war back in vogue,” human rights erosion, and the abuse of diplomacy, while still sounding balanced enough that ambassadors across the spectrum felt challenged but not attacked. He was widely lauded for denounc-


ing an “Orwellian” trend in modern language, where words are manipulat- ed to exclude dissent under the guise of inclusion. Leo XIV’s programmatic docu-


ment to date, an apostolic exhortation called Dilexi Te on love for the poor,


NEW DIRECTION Traditional Catholics in the U.S. are hoping Pope Leo will be more accepting of the Latin Mass, unlike his predecessor Francis, who restricted it and claimed it was causing divisions within the church. Here, Cardinal Raymond Burke celebrated Mass in Latin last October at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.


AP PHOTO/ALESSANDRA TARANTINO


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