Pope Leo XIV has given his first interview, which was also published on his birthday. The conversation was with journalist Elise Ann from Crux Media and will be included in a forthcoming biography of the pope.
It was a three-hour interview, divided into two parts: the first held at Castel Gandolfo, and the second at the pope’s residence in the Palace of the Sant'Uffizio.
The pope spoke, among other things, about his personal interests. It is well known that he enjoys sports and if Peru and the United States were to compete in the World Cup, he says he would root for Peru. Now, as pope, he says he supports everyone.
POPE LEO XIV
Robert Prevost was a White Sox fan, but as Pope, I'm a fan of all the teams, you know? So like, I'm a fan of the Rome soccer team. But when the Naples team came after they had won the Scudetto, I, you know, I was it was encouraging, encouraging them and congratulating them. So, so even even at home. I mean, I grew up a White Sox fan, but my mother was a Cubs fan. So you couldn't be one of those fans that shut out the other side.
Pope Leo said he is still learning how to be pope. He added that the biggest change he has experienced is being thrust into the role of a global leader.
Every word he speaks now carries weight and is analyzed in great detail. But for the pontiff, there are three values that must never be lost and that he continues to emphasize: the value of human life, family, and society.
To these, he added others, which tie into the choice of his name and the legacy of Leo XIII. One of them is the growing gap in income between different social classes.
CEOs who sixty years ago might have been earning four to six times more than workers, now, according to the latest figures I saw, earn six hundred times more than what average workers receive. Yesterday I read the news that Elon Musk is going to be the world’s first trillionaire. What does that mean and what is that about? If that’s the only thing that has value today, then we’re in big trouble.
The pope also spoke about building bridges through dialogue, something he announced in his first message as pope. Pope Leo has already met and spoken with many world leaders, though he noted that this kind of dialogue should primarily fall under the role of the United Nations.
In theory, the United Nations should be the place where many of these issues are addressed. Unfortunately, it seems generally recognized that the United Nations, at least at this time, has lost its capacity for multilateralism.
Regarding Church matters, the pope was asked about the concept of synodality. This was his response:
POPE LEO XIV
Some people have felt threatened by it. Sometimes, bishops or priests may feel that “synodality is going to take away my authority.” That’s not what synodality is about. Maybe their idea of what their authority is is a bit off, mistaken. I think synodality is a way to describe how we can come together and be a community and seek communion as a Church, so that it’s a Church whose main focus isn’t an institutional hierarchy, but rather a sense of “we together,” “our Church.”
Little by little, more is being learned about Pope Leo. But some key questions remain, for instance, who will be the new prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, and when will the first official document of his pontificate be released.
VL
