LEO AND THE LATIN AMERICANS - Part IV in the Series "The First Year of Leo XIV"

This is the fourth of several analyses written for Rorate by our contributor Serre Verweij on Leo XIV's first year.

Series: The First Year of Leo XIV

IV  - LEO AND THE LATIN AMERICANS

[Part I - Leo and the Germans.]

[Part II - Leo and Synodality.]

[Part III - Leo and the Radicals.]

I warmly greet all the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean, joined in a collegial spirit to discern together the current challenges to the church in Latin America and to seek, in affective and effective communion, pastoral initiatives that lead to solutions in accordance with the criteria of the Sacred Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium.

With these words, Pope Leo XIV began his message to the bishops of the Conference of the Latin American Episcopate (CELAM), on the 70th anniversary of their foundation, at the Rio de Janeiro Conference of 1955. 

Leo and the Germans

 This is the first of several analyses written for Rorate by our contributor Serre Verweij on Leo XIV's first year.

Series: The First Year of Leo XIV

I  - LEO AND THE GERMANS

by Serre Verweij

for Rorate Caeli

August 1, 2025

While we are waiting for Pope Leo XIV to tip his hand and release his first encyclical, and make his first curial appointments, both sides in the struggle between tradition and modernism keep trying to claim him. The attempts by progressives to claim the Pope as their secret candidate (after the fact) are looking increasingly desperate, however. Specifically, attempts by the German bishops stand out as highly dubious.

PINNED: Leo XIV: the Man, the Priest, and the Bishop - Who is He? An Assessment, by RORATE CÆLI

[PINNED MAY 11 POST, newer posts below]

Who Is He?

by Serre Verweij

for Rorate Cæli

May 10, 2025

Robert Francis Prevost has become Pope Leo XIV. Before May 8, 2025, most people did not know the name Prevost, but now he is the chief shepherd of over a billion Catholics. Both orthodox Catholics and modernists have been celebrating, while there have been naysayers on both sides, too. This reflects the fact Prevost was touted as a ‘compromise candidate’ and pushed by strong prelates on both sides. Both the orthodox and the modernists seem to think, or hope, that the new Pope actually leans more in their direction, with orthodox faithful especially being optimistic after his more traditional choice of papal attire and his orthodox first papal mass. So, to put it crudely, the real question is: who got played? 

To fully understand our new Pope it could help to look into his past statements, actions, and general career, starting with his recent rise in Rome. 

The meteoric rise

Testimonies on Father and Bishop Prevost - from Illinois and Peru

From Illinois, the following note from a priest: 

The former Fr. Prevost was an assistant pastor at St. Jude in New Lenox for a time, not far from where we serve.  It is an Augustinian parish.  

The strong and firm consensus about him in this area is that he is smart, quiet, and kind.

***

The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) in North America has annual missions to northern Peru, especially in the city of Piura. There, they are warmly welcomed by an American priest, Father Joe (Joseph Uhen), of the Santísimo Sacramento Parish.