The 3 - May 11, 2025

New pope selected, speculation taking place on direction

Within the space of two days, Robert Prevost, the first American-born pope, became Pope Leo XIV, succeeding Pope Francis, who had passed away not long ago. 

There is certainly a digital footprint that Cardinal Prevost has, and that has raised speculation about whether or not he will become an extension of the term of Pope Francis or chart his own course.

USA Today reported:

Before being elected on May 8 as the leader of the Catholic church, Pope Leo XIV shared social media posts criticizing President Donald Trump's and Vice President JD Vance's stances on immigration.

In three posts, then-Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost of Chicago was critical of Vance's take on religion, shared an article critiquing Vance's statements on deportation of migrants and retweeted criticism of Trump and President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele's response to the deportation of El Salvadorian national Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a resident of Maryland.

One post from Feb. 3, 2025, pointed to an article in the National Catholic Reporter titled "JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others."

At The Stream, John Zmirak, who is Catholic, stated: "On the one hand, he seems to genuinely oppose abortion...," embedding a tweet from noted pro-life advocate Frank Pavone. And, Zmirak states, "Leo in the past has expressed conventionally orthodox Christian opinions on the Sexual Revolution...," and embedded a tweet from Breitbart's Alana Mastrangelo.

But, Zmirak also noted that, "The bulk of public commentary that Leo has made in the past leans far to the left, alas, on issues where genuine Catholic teaching is either neutral or actually conservative, as John West...noted..."

Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes at WORLD Magazine:

What does this mean for the future of the Roman Catholic Church? The two most basic facts to consider are these: First, Pope Francis appointed the vast majority of the cardinal electors in the room. Second, Prevost had been personally chosen by Pope Francis to direct the process of choosing and appointing bishops around the globe. In other words, there is little chance that the new pope was chosen to do anything but continue the trajectory set by Francis. That is of great concern to conservative Catholics.

Mohler also presented concern about the packaging and optics:

Francis presented himself as a genial grandfather, but behind the scenes he hit conservatives hard, forbidding, for example, the Latin mass. At times Francis appeared downright confused about basic issues of Catholic tradition and teaching. My guess is that Pope Leo XIV will present himself very differently. Conservatives now wonder out loud if Leo will be simultaneously more polished and more effective at the task of liberalizing Catholic doctrine and practice.

But, two commentators for EWTN, the Catholic network based in Birmingham, see Pope Leo as potentially building bridges.  Teresa Tomeo, on Friday's Meeting House on Faith Radio, shared that description from one of her radio show guests and cautioned people from perhaps jumping to conclusions about the direction of this next papacy.  And, Mediaite quoted from a Fox News appearance by Raymond Arroyo, who said this to Will Cain:

Well, hope springs eternal, Will, even in The Eternal City. Here’s what I’d say. It’s a mixed bag. The record is a mixed bag, but there are indications when you saw the pope come out today, ok, he was wearing the traditional mozzetta, that red garment atop his white cassock. That’s kind of a cry back to the past. That’s a wink at tradition. So, a lot of traditionalists and conservative people said, “Oh look, he’s dressing like a pope.”

We frankly haven’t seen this in 12 years with Pope Francis. So, maybe Leo will be as he mentioned in his speech today, a bridge-builder. One hopes, I mean, when you look at his Twitter feed, he was for open borders in the United States and kind of took potshots at JD Vance and the Trump administration.

But look, all popes are going to support migrants, support the poor, support peace. Their heart goes out for humanity. That’s with the job. Jesus would do the same. I don’t know if he’d get so political. And that, they’re gonna have to be careful of.

The record shows concern, but Pope Leo XIV's record as pope is just beginning to be written.  Because of his status as leader of the 1.4 billion-member Roman Catholic Church and his profile in the world as an influential moral and spiritual leader, what he does - and says - potentially impacts all people of faith and is highly significant.  

University agrees to pay psychiatrist fired for his views on gender transition

Allen Josephson once headed the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Louisville.  That changed, according to CBN.com, when he spoke at a 2017 event sponsored by the Heritage Foundation.  The article said that (including information from Alliance Defending Freedom):

According to the ADF, a non-profit legal group, Josephson spoke in his personal capacity during a panel discussion about his views on children experiencing gender dysphoria. As a result of his comments, the school "demoted, harassed, and ultimately fired" him for "speaking out on the harms of 'transitioning' children."

The article continued:

In his own words, Josephson said the retribution was swift.

"As a medical professional who cares about my patients, my answer was simple, obvious, and innocuous. We must start by finding out the cause of the child's 'transgender' confusion and resolving any emotional problems before considering more invasive, risky treatments," Josephson explained, writing for the Daily Signal.

"It seemed a reasonable enough response," he continued. "According to the scientific method, every study begins with questions. One of the first is: 'Why?'"

CBN reported: "Josephson said that after 14 years of building a successful program at the school, he was demoted within a matter of weeks after speaking at the Heritage event, ultimately ending his 40-year career." He was quoted as saying, "The university ended my career because I elected not to surf the current wave of social activism..."

ADF filed a lawsuit on Josephson's behalf, and a federal appeals court ruled that the case could proceed. CBN.com stated:

In a lawsuit filed against the school, ADF argued the university violated Josephson's freedom of speech and other constitutionally protected freedoms.

In September of last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled that Josephson's case should proceed to trial, declaring public university officials can be held personally accountable for censoring professors or retaliating against them as the University of Louisville was accused of doing in Josephson's case.

ADF announced earlier this week that the school has agreed to settle the case, paying Josephson almost $1.6 million in damages and attorneys' fees.

U.S. Supreme Court declares that Administration can continue to ban transgender people serving in the military

As the SCOTUS Blog website reports, on Inauguration Day this year, "...President Donald Trump...issued" an "order requiring Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to put into effect a ban on 'individuals with gender dysphoria' – the medical term for the psychological distress caused by a conflict between the sex someone is assigned at birth and that person’s gender identity."

The website points out that the Department of Defense, on February 26, "issued that ban, which generally disqualifies anyone who either has gender dysphoria or has undergone medical interventions to treat gender dysphoria from serving in the military. The department explained that 'the medical, surgical, and mental health constraints on individuals who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms with, gender dysphoria are incompatible with the high mental and physical standards necessary for military service.'"

A group of plaintiffs went to court to stop the ban from taking effect, and a federal district judge ordered the implementation of the ban stopped, and an appeals court agreed with the lower court judge.  The Administration appealed to the high court, which put the lower court order on hold, allowing the ban to continue while the trial is progressing in the 9th Circuit.