The challenge before the Conclave of Cardinals was to choose the man who could hold the Roman Catholic Church together in a meaningful way, and share a moral vision to move forward. It seems the conclave did not have to struggle much to find a successor to Pope Francis, who passed away last month. The legacy of Pope Francis was quite clear — to be at the side of the oppressed and to reach out to other faiths in an inter-religious world. The newly-elected Pope Leo XIV seems closer to Pope Francis in his idea of being with the oppressed. There is the vow of poverty in the Order of St. Augustine, to which he belongs.There is an undeniable pomp and power associated with the head of the 1.4 billion Roman Catholic Church, whose adherents span the entire planet. There is also the historical baggage that the Popes have played a key role in the past, in the contentious and strife-torn politics of Europe for centuries during the medieval and early modern periods. So, the present-day Popes are forced to consciously choose the role of the spiritual mentor to Roman Catholics and that of moral mentor to the rest of Europe and beyond.Given Robert Francis Prevost’s background with the mixed lineage of Italian, French and Spanish ancestry, and given his social upbringing in Pennsylvania and Chicago in the 1970s and early 1980s — the conservative upswing in America had grown considerably — he had a less contentious political background than that of his predecessor in the stormy politics of Argentina. The other conspicuous feature is that Bishop Prevost, as an American, knew what it is like to be a minority as the Roman Catholics were a conspicuous minority in Protestant America. And it is not surprising that his pastoral (clerical) life was spent in Roman Catholic-majority Peru in South America. The other factor that stands out in the election of Prevost is that he is the second Pope from the Western Hemisphere, from the New World of the Americas, after Pope Francis. But like Francis, Pope Leo XIV has strong European roots.The other unsurprising fact about this election is that the majority of cardinals who chose Pope Leo XIV were created cardinals by Pope Francis. The transition then is quite smooth. Unlike Pope Francis, who was a Jesuit, an order which has a clear strategy for upholding the Roman Catholic Church, his successor, Pope Leo XIV, seems to belong to the quieter Augustinian order, which is inward-looking but which had been pressed into evangelisation in the early centuries after the order was established in the 13th century by Pope Innocent IV.The quiet and self-effacing Prevost, by choosing the papal name of Leo XIV, is believed to have made clear his politico-moral credo following that of Pope Leo XIII, who had issued a papal statement called “Rerum Novarum” (Of New Things) in 1891, where he made clear his opposition to capitalism and its alternative, state-controlled socialism. So, Pope Leo XIV has in a quiet manner thrown down the gauntlet as it were as to where his papacy would stand. It can be argued that unlike in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when the ideological divisions were much clearer than they are now, it was relatively easier for Pope Leo XIII to have rejected the dominant ideologies of the day. Pope Leo XIV has to find his way through a post-ideological haze, where the market economies are roiling, and in place of socialist states, the dangers of fascism and diabolical nationalism are looming on the horizon in Europe and in many other places. The only certainty is the plight of the poor and the oppressed across national borders and continents. And that should be the guiding light for the new Pope.There is the nagging question of what Leo XIV would do about the creeping moral decay in parts of the Roman Catholic Church’s edifice.Will he boldly bring them to light because it is the moral courage that will help the church to emerge stronger? Or would he adopt a more tactical position that Pope Francis had adopted? Pope Leo XIV will face criticism on both counts, for going too far in one case, and for not going far enough in another case. What should help him dealing with the problem is his quiet demeanour, which should help him take the difficult decision.What is surprising is the size of the crowds, not just in Italy, but in different parts of the Catholic world, who mourned the death of Pope Francis, and who wholeheartedly welcomed the election of Pope Leo XIV. The popular sentiment rooted in a vague longing for religious solace remains a puzzle to social scientists and public intellectuals, especially in Europe and America. For the intellectuals, it is a post-Christian world as much as it is a post-ideological world. But ordinary people from Peru to the Philippines look up to the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope. The Roman Catholic clergy and its vast bureaucratic edifice seems to derive legitimacy in the simple faith of millions of ordinary faithful. So, when individuals like Pope Francis and Pope Leo XIV appear at the window of the papal palace at St. Peter’s Square in Rome, and the crowds begin to cheer, the popularity of the political stars and the icons of the glamour world seems to pale. It is extremely reassuring that the head of the Roman Catholic Church speaks the language of peace and understanding, and about the sufferings of the poor. The Catholic Church, with its quaint customs and ceremonies, and its prelates dressed in amusing robes, might appear anachronous, but it is one institution that seems to send out a positive message. It would of course be naïve to believe that the soft power wielded by the Roman Catholic Church can counter the destructive and distracting winds blowing through the world.But the fact that there is a corner from where positive notes emerge is reassuring. It would be an ideal scenario if the heads of religions of the world can come together and speak about peace, compassion and cooperation.Billions of ordinary people all across the world are looking for a soothing spiritual message, even if it is only symbolic.
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