In his very first sermon as pontiff, Pope Leo XIV told the cardinals who elected him that anyone who exercises authority in the Catholic Church must “make oneself small,” so that only Christ remains.
In word and deed since, Pope Leo has seemed intent on almost disappearing into the role. The shy Augustinian missionary has eschewed the headline-grabbing protagonism of past pontiffs in favour a less showy and more reserved way of being pope.
Pope Leo will disappear further this weekend when he begins a six-week vacation in his first break since his historic election May 8.
He is resuming the papal tradition of escaping the Roman heat for the relatively cooler climes of Castel Gandolfo, the papal summer retreat on Lake Alban, south of Rome.
The Papal or Apostolic Palace in the background as tourists enjoy drinks in the town of Castel Gandolfo, a historic summer retreat for popes about 30 kilometres southeast of Rome, where Pope Leo XIV will spend a short period of rest.
| Photo Credit:
AP
People who know and work with Pope Leo expect he will use these weeks away from the public eye and the daily grind of Vatican audiences to get his head around the most pressing problems facing the church.
He’s a methodical, hard-working and well-prepared manager, they say, who wants to read entire reports, not just the executive summaries, before making decisions.
Here is a look at Pope Leo’s summer homework, the outstanding dossiers he may be studying from now until Aug 17 in between dips in the pool, walks in the gardens and occasional Masses, prayers and visits in town.
Big nominations
After his election, Pope Leo reappointed all Vatican prefects until further notice, so the Holy See machinery is still working with the old guard in place. But a few major appointments await, most importantly to fill his old job as prefect of the office that vets bishop nominations.
The pontiff also has to decide who will be his No. 2, the Vatican secretary of state. That job, the equivalent of a prime minister, is still held by Pope Francis’ pick, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, who was himself an unsuccessful contender in the conclave that elected the pope.
Pope Leo XIV speaks with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
Even before he gets his people in place, Pope Leo has to get a handle on one of the most pressing problems facing the Holy See: Its troubled finances. The Vatican is running a structural deficit of around €50 million to €60 million and has a €1 billion shortfall in its pension fund.
The Rupnik problem
There are plenty of high-profile clergy sex cases that festered during Pope Francis’ pontificate that are now are on Pope Leo’s desk. History’s first American pope will be watched closely to see how he handles them, since he cannot claim ignorance about abuse or its dynamics, given the devastation the scandals have wrought in the United States.
The supreme pontiff has already said it’s “urgent” to create a culture of prevention in the church that shows no tolerance for any form of abuse, be it abuse of authority or spiritual or sexual abuse.
On that score, there is no case more pressing than that of the Rev. Marko Rupnik, a famous mosaic artist who was belatedly thrown out of the Jesuits after its superiors determined he sexually, psychologically and spiritually abused two dozen adult women and nuns.
Even though the case didn’t involve minors, it became a toxic problem for Pope Francis because of suggestions Rev. Rupnik received favourable treatment at the Vatican under the Jesuit pope.
Nearly two years after Pope Francis caved into pressure to reopen the Rupnik file, the Vatican has finally found external canon lawyers to hear the case, the head of the Vatican’s doctrine office, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernandez, told reporters last week.
As recently as March, Cardinal Fernandez had said he was having trouble finding any willing candidates. Now that Pope Francis is dead, the case may be less politically delicate, even as the priest’s supporters maintain his innocence.
The Becciu case
Another legal headache facing the new pope is what to do about Cardinal Angelo Becciu and the Vatican’s “trial of the century,” which is heading into the appeals phase in September.
File picture of Cardinal Angelo Becciu at Saint Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican
| Photo Credit:
Reuters
The city-state’s criminal tribunal in 2023 convicted Cardinal Becciu and eight other people of a variety of financial crimes stemming from the Holy See’s bungled €350 million investment in a London property.
But the trial was itself problematic, with defence claims that basic defence rights weren’t respected since Pope Francis intervened on several occasions in favour of prosecutors.
In the months since the verdicts were handed down, there have been new revelations that Vatican gendarmes and prosecutors were apparently in regular touch with a woman who was coaching the star witness into testifying against Cardinal Becciu.
The once-powerful cardinal has denounced the contacts as evidence that his conviction was orchestrated from the start, from the top.
Pope Leo, a canon lawyer, may want to steer clear of the whole thing to try to give the tribunal the impression of being independent. But he will ultimately have to decide what to do with Cardinal Becciu, who recused himself from the conclave but remains a cardinal with a very unclear status.
The Latin Mass issue
Pope Leo has said his priority as pope is unity and reconciliation in the church. Many conservatives and traditionalists hope that he will work to heal the liturgical divisions that spread during Pope Francis’ 12-year papacy, especially in the U.S., over the old Latin Mass.
Francis in 2021 restricted access for ordinary Catholics to the ancient liturgy, arguing that its spread was creating divisions in the church. In doing so, Pope Francis reversed his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, who in 2007 had relaxed restrictions on its celebration.
Cardinal Raymond Burke, a figurehead of the conservative and traditionalist camp, told a recent conference on the Latin Mass that he had spoken to Pope Leo about the need to “put an end to the present persecution of the faithful” who want to worship according to the old rite.
“It it is my hope that he will as soon as it is possible take up the study of this question and try to restore the situation as it was” under Pope Benedict’s reform, Cardinal Burke said.
AI and travel priorities
Pope Leo has also identified artificial intelligence as a pressing issue facing humanity, suggesting a document of some sort might be in the works.
Also under study is when he will start travelling, and where.
He has a standing invitation to undertake Pope Francis’ last, unfulfilled foreign commitment: Marking the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicea, Christianity’s first ecumenical council, with a visit to Turkey. Pope Leo has already said a visit is in the works, possibly in late November.
Beyond that, Pope Leo has received plenty of invitations: Vice President J.D. Vance extended a Donald Trump invitation to visit the U.S., but the pontiff demurred and offered a noncommittal “at some point”.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited him to visit Kyiv, but the Vatican under Pope Francis had refused a papal visit there unless one could also be arranged to Moscow.
Pope Leo’s old diocese of Chiclayo, Peru, meanwhile, is waiting for their bishop to come home, and then there’s Argentina, which never got a papal visit from the first-ever Argentine pope.
A town awaits
The residents of Castel Gandolfo, meanwhile, are aching for a pope to return. Pope Francis had decided not to use the retreat and instead spent his 12 papal summers at home, in the Vatican.
The town has recovered from the economic hit of pope-free summers, after Pope Francis instead opened the papal palace and gardens to the public as a museum year-round.
But townsfolks cannot wait for Pope Leo to take up residence and enjoy the town’s gorgeous lake views and quiet starry nights. It’s the perfect place for a pope to rest, read, write and think in private, they say.
“Remember, many encyclicals were written here,” noted the Rev Tadeusz Rozmus, the town’s parish priest.
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