Let\u2019s face it, anniversaries are important. They invite us to pause and reflect, both on how far we\u2019ve come, and on what we\u2019ve learned along the way. Even though six months don't really qualify as an anniversary, in terms of a pontificate, they could potentially reveal a great deal about\u2026 the pontiff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019m referring, of course, to Leo XIV\u2019s first 180 days as Pope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s true that, for many, the surprise election of the first American Pope hasn\u2019t completely worn off. Even the image of him on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica is still very fresh in our minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s also true that several books and documentaries are already out there in the public domain, chronicling everything from when he was a teenage altar-server in Chicago, a missionary in Peru, Prior General of the Augustinian Order (twice), to Cardinal Prefect of the Vatican office overseeing the selection of bishops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pictures and articles describing him in all those roles flood the internet. So, there\u2019s really not that much more to say about him \u2013 at least not before he was catapulted to the world\u2019s attention as Leo XIV.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As we mark his first six months as Pope, the most interesting question is: What do we know now about Robert Prevost that we didn't know before?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The short answer is\u2026 very little.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Thanks to his meeting with a group of Hollywood greats recently, we found out that his favorite movie is \u201cThe Sound of Music\u201d. He did tell an Italian pop singer he\u2019s been a fan of hers for years. And we\u2019ve known for a while that, back in the U.S., every time the Chicago Cubs face off against the Chicago White Sox, the debate reopens about which baseball team he actually supports. According to his brother it\u2019s the latter. But Chicago Cubs fans still find that hard to swallow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We know he likes taking Tuesdays off to spend time at the papal retreat of Castel Gandolfo outside Rome, where he occasionally plays tennis, and that, when he can, he enjoys playing web-based word games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And\u2026 that\u2019s about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When trying to fathom what else Pope Leo likes or, more importantly, what he really thinks, journalists who regularly cover the Vatican often describe him as \u201cdiscreet\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Oxford English Dictionary (yes, I still have a copy), defines \u201cdiscreet\u201d as being \u201ccareful and prudent in one\u2019s words and actions\u201d. Wikipedia, or AI (I\u2019m never quite sure which is which), describes a \u201cdiscreet person\u201d as one who \u201cuses good judgement, exercises self-restraint, and avoids rash decisions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of the above could aptly be applied to the new pontiff\u2019s \u201cwords and actions\u201d. And yet, for those with eyes to see and ears to hear, it\u2019s abundantly clear where his priorities lie. Just take a look at his first Apostolic Exhortation. In it he highlights care for the poor, and reiterates all the basic tenets of Catholic social doctrine. When he addresses Bishops Conferences, he regularly reminds them always to place \u201cJesus Christ at the center\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Confidentially-speaking, the biggest reveal might come in January when he\u2019ll meet with all the world\u2019s cardinals in what\u2019s called an \u201cExtraordinary Consistory\u201d. Odds are that the meeting might just disclose unforeseen insights into the mind and heart of the \u201cdiscreet\u201d Pope Leo XIV.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Let\u2019s face it, anniversaries are important. They invite us to pause and reflect, both on how far we\u2019ve come, and on what we\u2019ve learned along the way. Even though six months don't really qualify as an anniversary, in terms of a pontificate, they could potentially reveal a great deal about\u2026 the pontiff. I\u2019m referring, of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":758,"featured_media":83368,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"acf":{"video":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/dMGtP7X1nIE","video_descarga":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/","international_url":"https:\/\/attuale.romereports.com\/news\/","type":"none","newsletter":"si"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83367"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/758"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83367"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83367\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83372,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83367\/revisions\/83372"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83368"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83367"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83367"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.romereports.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83367"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}