Robert Francis Prevost, who will turn 70 on September 14, is the 267th Pope, Leo XIV is the name he has chosen: a curious figure of a "Latin Yankee" who unites the two Americas , he has become the candidate for pope of the cardinals of North and South America, very large groups.

Augustinian, close to Bergoglio, he is the first North American Pope . Since 2023 he has been prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America .

In the same year he received the purple. Born in Chicago to a family of French origin, he graduated in Mathematics and Philosophy . From 1985 to 1999 he was a missionary in Peru . Returning to Chicago, in 2001 he became prior of the Order of Saint Augustine, a position he held until 2013. In that year he returned to Peru, as bishop of Ciclayo.

Bergoglio called him to Rome in 2023. The American bishop, who speaks fluent Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and French, had shown particular attention to the marginalized and migrants in Peru, much appreciated by Francis .

Progressive on issues such as welcoming migrants, the environment and helping the poor and marginalized, he is considered more conservative on civil rights . He embodies a vision that combines spirituality, social justice and environmental responsibility.

As prefect for bishops, he appointed hundreds of prelates, forging a generation of open-minded and progressive "Bergoglian" religious men . Prevost earned a reputation as a reserved and balanced cardinal.

He has been a member of the dicasteries for Evangelization (section for the first evangelization and the new particular Churches), for the Doctrine of the Faith (Eastern Churches), for the Clergy, for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, for Culture and Education and for Legislative Texts. He was also a member of the Pontifical Commission for the Vatican City State.

Prevost was able to count on the support of the powerful Honduran cardinal Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga: formerly Bergoglio's "pope-maker", he is now over eighty and out of the conclave, but is still very influential .

A staunch supporter of integral ecology: in 2024, during the seminar 'Addressing the problems of the environmental crisis in the light of Laudato si' and 'Laudate Deum', he underlined the need to move "from words to deeds", basing the response to the environmental crisis on the Social Doctrine of the Church. For Prevost, the "dominion over nature", entrusted by God to humanity, must not transform itself into "tyranny", but must be experienced as a "relationship of reciprocity" with the environment .

He also warned of the consequences of uncontrolled technological development, highlighting the importance of a human economy that respects the environment and promotes circular models of production and consumption , opposing the "throwaway culture", reiterating that the economy should improve, and not destroy, our world.

For the new Pontiff, global cooperation must be the basis of the fight against the climate crisis , with a legal, political and economic order that can strengthen joint global work for "the development of all peoples in solidarity".

However, he faces a couple of accusations of covering up sexual abuse by priests, in Chicago and Peru . Last year, Prevost and his successor in the Illinois capital, Blaise Cupich, were denounced for failing to take action in the 1980s and 1990s against two Augustinians, later convicted of abuse. In Peru, the prefect for bishops was accused by three sisters of covering up their complaint of having been sexually abused by two priests. The diocese of Ciclayo explained that the then bishop had advised them to file a complaint with the civil authorities, and that the canonical process was interrupted when the judiciary shelved the proceedings due to the statute of limitations. None of the cases resulted in a trial.

(Online Union)

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