WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- Within moments of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost stepping onto the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 8 as Pope Leo XIV, some U.S. Catholics were quick to seek out clues about his political and social views.
Pope Leo begins his papacy at a time of heightened polarization in the U.S. church, and as a rise in authoritarianism can be observed around the globe. As the first American pontiff, Pope Leo will also have his papacy overlap with the administration of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, which analysts told OSV News could be a difficult relationship to navigate at times.
Robert Schmuhl, professor emeritus of American studies at the University of Notre Dame, who critically observes the modern American presidency, told OSV News, "In recent years, many commentators have questioned whether America was in decline, some saying that the so-called 'American Century' had come to an end."
"We'll have to see what happens, but the election of Pope Leo might temper how America is viewed from abroad," he said.
At a press conference May 9 at the Pontifical North American College, when the U.S. cardinal electors were asked whether they think Pope Leo might be able to build a bridge and find conversation and dialogue with Trump, Washington Cardinal Robert W. McElroy said: "I think the impact of him being an American was almost negligible in the deliberations ... at the conclave. Surprisingly so."
Asked to what extent one could interpret the election of Pope Leo as the desire of the cardinals to find a "counterweight" on the global scale to the Trump administration, Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York said, "I don't think the fact that Cardinal Prevost was from the United States had much weight."
The pope is a "bridge-builder," added Cardinal Dolan, who was recently among those named to a White House religious liberty commission. "Would he want to build bridges with Donald Trump? I suppose. But he would want to build bridges with the leaders of every nation."
Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory, retired archbishop of Washington, said, "I didn't sense in the conversations I had with the other cardinals of the world that the conclave was seen as the continuation of the American political election."
"Obviously, the cardinals were quite aware of things that have occured in the United States, statements that have been made, political actions that have been taken," Cardinal Gregory said. "But what the cardinals were concerned about primarily, at least from my conversations with them, was who among us can bring us together? Who among us can strengthen the faith and bring the faith to places where it has grown weak? Bring the faith to places where there seems to be less enthusiasm or appreciation of the common things that bring us together? So it wasn't an election conclave. It was a desire to strengthen the Christian faith among God's people."
Trump, for his part, congratulated Pope Leo both on social media and in comments to reporters at the White House, noting his status as the first American pope.
"What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country," Trump wrote on his social media website Truth Social shortly after Pope Leo was named.
But the U.S. church has faced significant challenges in the first months of Trump's second administration, including its policies on migration and refugees, tension then-Cardinal Prevost appeared to acknowledge in social media posts prior to becoming pontiff, including posts on X critical of the Trump administration's immigration policy.
In February, he shared an opinion piece from the National Catholic Reporter titled "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others," a reference to the vice president's comments about the Catholic theological concept of the "ordo amoris" (the order of love or charity) -- a subject that Pope Francis decided to address directly, without naming Vance, in a public address to the U.S. bishops.
A review of an X account previously used by the pope shows posts or reposts including criticism of abortion and the death penalty, calls for a greater effort to address gun violence in the U.S., as well as prayers for healing and an end to racism after the murder of Minneapolis man George Floyd, whose death in police custody sparked unrest.
Kim Daniels, the director of the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University and a member of the Vatican's Dicastery for Communications, told OSV News, "I'm grateful that in Pope Leo we'll have an American global leader who's committed to a 'better kind of politics' and Catholic social teaching, who respects the life and dignity of all, who will prioritize the common good and the pursuit of peace, and who will speak up for migrants and the poor."
John Carr, founder of the initiative, told OSV News, "I hope an American pope with global experience and a deep commitment to Catholic social teaching encourages U.S. Catholics to let their faith shape their politics instead of having their politics shape their faith."
"This a time for Catholics with differing political affiliations to come together in a united effort to defend human life and dignity, protect migrants and the poor, practice solidarity and care for creation," he added.
Pope Leo, who is eligible to vote in U.S. elections as a citizen, voted several times in his home state of Illinois in recent years, public records show, including casting an absentee ballot in the 2024 presidential election.
Voting records from Will County, a suburb of Chicago, show the now-pope voted in Illinois' Republican primaries in 2012, 2014 and 2016. Those records do not include votes in the 2016 or 2020 elections.
Despite some claims to the contrary on social media, Illinois voters do not register as members of a particular political party, and can cast a ballot in a party primary as they wish, but only one party per election. Alternatively, they may request a nonpartisan ballot, which only includes public questions.
Schmuhl said that "from what we know of his views, Pope Leo might be quite similar to Pope Francis in speaking out on behalf of migrants and people who are marginalized."
"In this respect, the Trump administration could worry about a possible collision course with the pontiff," he said. "Generally, however, having an American as pope brings the church closer to the U.S. in the sense that he's 'one of us.' That counts for a lot, even in the White House."
John White, a professor of politics at The Catholic University of America in Washington, told OSV News that "it's still the question to be to be answered" what kind of pontiff Pope Leo will be, but his chosen name suggests a commitment to social justice.
White said he expects to see some continuity with Pope Francis' commitments to the poor and vulnerable, but also to the Gospel as a whole as a successor of Peter.
"I think some of what Pope Leo may say may anger, you know, progressive Catholics, might anger conservative Catholics or Trump supporters, I think we can say that immigration is one such issue where there could be conflict. But again, it's going back to the Gospel message," he said.
