‘Bog-standard patriarchal': McAleese says new Pope's first 100 days ‘anything but forward thinking'

The Journal

18 hours ago

MARY MCALEESE HAS strongly criticised Pope Leo XIV's first 100 days, saying his pontificate has been cautious, conservative, and 'anything but forward thinking.'
In an article published in the
UK's Catholic Tablet magazine
last week, the former Irish president argued that Pope Leo has largely abandoned the more reform-minded elements of his predecessor Francis' papacy, reverting instead to conservative and patriarchal norms.
'Almost entirely gone already are the early signs of Francis' modesty – the plain dress, simple accommodation, and rejection of the summer residence at Castel Gandolfo,' she said.
McAleese was particularly critical of Pope Leo's record on women and LGBTQ+ Catholics.
She described him as a 'bog-standard patriarchal, patronising and prone to tokenism,' noting that he has inherited a theology of male-only priesthood and shows no inclination to challenge it.
His stance on LGBTQ+ Catholics has faced previous criticisim – during his tenure as a bishop in Peru, Pope Leo opposed government plans to include gender teachings in schools and criticised discussions of sexual orientation with children as 'confusing.'
In 2012, he expressed concern that Western culture promotes 'enormous sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel,' specifically referencing abortion, the 'homosexual lifestyle,' and same-sex families.
His stance on the Vatican's 2023 document Fiducia Supplicans, a Vatican guideline which permits nonliturgical blessings for same-sex couples, remains ambiguous, leaving interpretation to national bishops.
Pope Leo's recent comments on marriage and abortion, McAleese said, could have been made by Benedict, John Paul II, Paul VI or Pius XI.
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Pope Leo has also attempted to court MAGA supporters in the US, McAleese claimed, seeking financial support for the Church while simultaneously contesting aspects of the political movement's thinking.
McAleese warned that this balancing act risks compromising reform, particularly on equality, human rights, and Church teaching on sexuality.
She highlighted the appointment of Rev Thomas Hennen as Bishop of Baker, Oregon, a figure linked to Courage International, an organisation operating within Church teaching that regards homosexuality as 'intrinsically disordered.'
'This appointment and its accompanying spin is a worrying straw in the wind,' she wrote.
While acknowledging that Pope Leo has continued Francis' advocacy for migrants, the poor, and care for the environment, McAleese said that his approach is advocacy 'with the volume turned down'.
'We appear to have pivoted dramatically from a sometimes narky showman to a shy, genial man, from an impulsive pope to a measured pope, from a Latin American pope to an American pope,' she said.
McAleese also questioned whether this gentleness masks a reluctance to take on the entrenched, male-dominated structures of the Church.
She pointed out that the Synod on Synodality, though promising at local levels, failed to deliver meaningful reform centrally, leaving Pope Leo at a critical crossroads.
The Synod on Synodality is the Church's worldwide 'listening exercise,' meant to gather input from clergy and laypeople to shape reforms and church policy.
'Will he have the courage and faith to be an agent of change, or are we already looking at another filibuster pope – a very different personality from Francis but the same failure to embrace real change?' McAleese said.
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