New pope of the Catholic Church is ‘moderate’, ‘good-humoured’: report

Rome: Until Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was chosen as the next pope, taking the papal name Leo XIV, it was a ‘distant possibility’ for an American to make it to the religious position, according to The Guardian.

The 69-year-old’s ascendance comes as a surprise amid ‘Vatican’s longstanding opposition to a US pope’.

The opposition to the idea of a US pope, according to the report, stems from factors like ‘having a pontiff from a political superpower’, alongside the country’s ‘hegemonic cultural and secular global influence’.

With choosing the man, who was a cardinal for just over two years, for the position following a brief conclave has changed this perception.

While progressive factions of the church welcome the choice, Robert Francis Prevost was not the one the more conservative Trump-leaning cardinals were looking for.

Though born in Chicago in 1955, he is not a typical US catholic cleric as he is holding a Peruvian citizenship.

Having reached in Peru following his solemn vows in 1981, he went on spending years at a seminary in Peru’s third city, Trujillo holding the position like judicial vicar and as a professor of canon, patristic and moral law.

He is known to people from those times as ‘a calm and grounded leader’ who used to sit with his fellow priests at breakfast after prayers.

The Rev Fidel Purisaca Vigil, the communication director of a diocese in Chiclayo told news agency AP that ‘No matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humour and joy’.

Prevost is known to be a hard-working and “moderating influence” among Peru’s bishops who are divided along ideological lines.

It is reported that his strong connection to Latin America and his roles in the church may have contributed to endearing him to those who oppose the idea of a US pope, according to the report.