Detroit Catholics praise first American pope, who studied in Michigan
Catholics in metro Detroit are praising the first American to be pope, who once lived in Michigan, saying he will continue Pope Francis' legacy of caring for marginalized communities. Some also hope he will improve the Vatican's record of handling sexual abuse, expressing concern about how he handled some cases in the past.
Born in Chicago as Robert Francis Prevost, Pope Leo XIV attended in the 1970s a Catholic high school in west Michigan, the now-closed St. Augustine Catholic Seminary, a boarding school in Laketown Township for boys in grades 9-12, according to the Vatican.
Before being selected by his fellow cardinals during a conclave this week, he served for decades in Peru as a missionary. Close to Pope Francis, he rose through the ranks in the Vatican, becoming a cardinal-bishop in February, assigned to a diocese in Rome, Italy. Catholic cardinals voted on May 8 to select Prevost during an assembly known as a conclave at the Vatican.
"I'm delighted," Michael Hovey, a senior instructor at the University of Detroit-Mercy who teaches religion and is the former coordinator for ecumenical and interfaith relations for the Archdiocese of Detroit, told the Free Press shortly after the announcement. "I think we're going to see great things out of him."
Like Pope Leo XIV, Hovey was also a missionary in Peru for a year and a half, and so feels a connection to the new pope. He's also excited about the name he chose, Leo. The last pope with that name, Pope Leo XIII, was a supporter of workers' rights.
"I'm especially happy with the name he's chosen, Leo the 14th, because Leo the 13th is the pope who started what we now call Catholic social teaching," Hovey said. "Leo the 13th wrote an encyclical on the rights of workers, critiquing some of the excesses of capitalism, and talked about the need for things that we now take for granted, like good working conditions and time off, vacation and sick days."
Archbishop of Detroit Edward Weisenburger also praised the new head of the Catholic Church, holding a news conference on the afternoon of May 8 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, the seat of the archdiocese.
Weisenburger, who was installed as archbishop in March, said he was pleasantly surprised an American was chosen.
"Pope Leo XIV's election leaves me exceptionally joyful," Weisenburger said in a statement from the archdiocese. "And I must humbly acknowledge that I did not anticipate a United States citizen would be elected Pope."
For decades, it was seen as taboo to have an American pope, given the power of the U.S. and fears it would take over the church.
Weisenburger noted the new pope's history in South America and his close ties to Pope Francis, who appointed Weisenburger in February to lead the Detroit archdiocese. Both Weisenburger and Pope Leo XIV speak Spanish as Latinos make up an increasing part of the Catholic Church's membership.
"His lifetime of ministry includes many years of ministry as a bishop in Peru, giving him a thorough understanding of South America," Weisenburger said. "Moreover, his close association with Pope Francis, history of charitable efforts for the poor and marginalized, extensive prior experience in the Vatican, and personal humility are all qualities that perhaps focused the light of Christ upon him for his brother Cardinals to see."
The Detroit archbishop called upon Catholics to "pray for Pope Leo XIV as he now begins his sacred ministry as the successor of Saint Peter, the Vicar of Christ on Earth."
Paul Long — the CEO and president of the Michigan Catholic Conference, the voice of the Catholic Church in the state on public policy — echoed the views of the archbishop.
'The cardinals' election of Pope Leo XIV is a source of joy and excitement for Catholics and indeed all people of goodwill in Michigan and across the globe," Long said. "The world holds great interest in the leadership of the Catholic Church and the pope's teaching on faith and morality, his approach to geopolitical realities, and the burning need for peace in our world."
Long said Catholic leaders in Michigan hope Pope Leo XIV "continues to build bridges, foster dialogue, and uphold the dignity and worth of every human life."
The Michigan Catholic Conference and Weisenburger have both emphasized this year the importance of respecting immigrants, an issue that Pope Leo XIV has also stressed on his Twitter feed. In several posts on X, previously known as Twitter, the new pope appeared to criticize Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic, for his conservative views on immigration. Vance had said Catholic doctrine known as "ordo amoris" means we should not care as much for groups such as migrants as we do for fellow Americans and our families. Catholic leaders said Vance misinterprets church teachings.
"JD Vance is wrong," read a tweet posted by Pope Leo XIV in February. "Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others."
Pope Leo XIV also has liberal views on environmental issues, agreeing with Pope Francis on the threats posed by climate change.
While Catholics believe in 'dominion over nature," humans should not become 'tyrannical" over it and instead have a 'relationship of reciprocity' with the environment, he said, the Vatican News reported in 2024.
While the new pope was praised by many, he also has his critics who say he has a weak history of fighting sexual abuse in the church and is too right-wing on LGBTQ+ issues. In 2012, he criticized what he called the 'homosexual lifestyle' and 'alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children," the New York Times reported on May 2.
Over the past week, there were some reports questioning whether Prevost should be named pope given his past record on dealing with sexual abuse allegations. The Will County Gazette, a newspaper in suburban Chicago in Illinois, ran a report on May 2 on an activist and abuse survivor who said Prevost should not become pope because of how he allegedly mishandled abuse committed by a priest. The headline quoted the activist, reading in part: "If he saw and stayed silent — he's not a good priest."
'With Prevost, we definitely do not want to enter into another situation where there is a cardinal that becomes pope that has bad things in their closet,' Eduardo Lopez de Casas, a clergy abuse survivor and national vice president of the Chicago-based Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), told the Illinois newspaper. 'Survivors worldwide ... should not have to watch men responsible for cover-ups climb to the top of the Catholic Church.'
The Pillar, a conservative Catholic media outlet, also raised concerns about Prevost, mentioning some abuse cases in Peru.
Janet Smith, a retired professor of moral theology formerly at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit, said that Pope Leo XIV has an opportunity to assuage those who are concerned about his record by making it clear has a zero tolerance on abuse.
Smith cited the case of a priest from Slovenia accused of assaulting women, Marko Rupnik. Rupnik had been excommunicated, but that excommunication was lifted by Pope Francis in 2022, outraging advocates for abuse victims. Some of his artwork is featured in the Vatican. His supporters deny the allegations against him.
More: 'Pope Trump' jokes spark outrage and late-night gags as cardinals gather in Rome
"One of the first things that Leo the 14th could do that would signal that he, in fact, is going to exercise the zero tolerance that the Vatican keeps talking about in respect to sex abusers, is that he will lay aside and refuse to have any of his art ever used again in the Vatican, and actually to apologize for ever having used it, especially after they knew the accusations against him," Smith said. Pope Leo XIV should also reverse the decision that Pope Francis made to lift his excommunication, she said.
Overall, Pope Leo XIV is "an unknown quantity" and it remains to be seen how he will lead the church, said Smith, who is sympathetic to the views of conservative and traditional Catholics. Smith said she hopes he will be more open to the traditional Latin Mass, which Pope Francis cracked down on. Weisenburger recently announced that the traditional Latin Mass will end at parish churches in the Detroit archdiocese by July.
The fact that Pope Leo XIV was often promoted by Pope Francis "suggests he probably is in line of Pope Francis," but she added that "there are some signs to the contrary."
More: Michigan native will help choose the next pope. What to know as papal conclave begins
Traditional Catholics are "holding on to as signs of hope, that he bore the traditional garb, that he chose a name that could be associated with conservative pontiffs, so he's a mix, not yet a completely known quantity. I'm trying to remain hopeful."
A special Mass for Pope Leo XIV may be planned for later at the cathedral, said Holly Fournier, a spokesperson for the archdiocese.
The Holland Sentinel and Reuters contributed to this report.
Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or X @nwarikoo
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Catholics in Detroit praise Pope Leo XIV, who studied in Michigan
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