Were you following the news last week when Robert Francis Prevost, who chose the name Leo XIV, was elected to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Roman Catholics, making him the first pope from the United States? What was your reaction?
Do you think a spiritual leader like the pope can play a significant role in our world today — not just for those who are members of his faith, but for everyone? If so, what do you hope to see this new pope say and do? Why?
In “For Catholics, the Pope Is a Holy Father. For the World, He Is a Powerful Voice,” Motoko Rich looks at what his papacy might mean:
Just days into the papacy of Leo XIV, the new pope has begun to lay out his vision for how he will lead the Catholic church.
Like his predecessor, he plans to embrace the poor and the marginalized. He wants to continue Francis’s effort to fling open the doors of the Vatican and listen to many voices outside the church hierarchy. And in a clear sign that this is a pope keenly attuned to the biggest tests of modernity, he said the church would address the challenge that artificial intelligence will pose to “human dignity, justice and labor.”
As the leader of close to 1.4 billion followers, a population that equals the size of China or India, Pope Leo’s words matter to nearly one out of every six people in the world. He also has a powerful global pulpit, so the issues he chooses to focus on can resonate far beyond the Catholic brethren.
Francis’s energy, charisma and compassion reminded not just Catholics but those of other faiths and in secular circles that a pope can be a public voice in ethical life.
The article continues:
Leo takes over the papacy at a tumultuous time in global affairs. Wars are being fought on several fronts, the political sphere in many countries is polarized, economic inequality is rising and people are struggling to make basic human connections through a sea of disinformation and diversion on social media.
“We’re in a moment when the moral forces of the world and religious forces of the world have a deep responsibility to say it doesn’t have to be this way,” said the Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, a Protestant minister and founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School.
Students, read the entire article and then tell us:
What is your reaction to the new pope? If you weren’t following the news closely, do you have friends, family or classmates who were? To what extent does this news matter to you or the communities you are a part of?
If the issues a pope chooses to focus on “can resonate far beyond the Catholic brethren” and influence the world, as the article shows has been true in the past, what issues do you most hope Leo focuses on? Why?
What do you think of the vision he has already laid out, which includes embracing the poor and marginalized, listening to voices outside the church hierarchy, and addressing the challenges that artificial intelligence will pose to “human dignity, justice and labor”?
How significant do you think it is that Leo is the first pope in history from the United States? What role do you hope he plays for Americans, specifically?
What role do you think spiritual leaders in general can or should play in our world today? Do you think they can be effective public voices in our ethical lives, even if we are not members of their faiths? If so, what ethical or moral questions confronting us today do you think a spiritual leader might help us think through?
Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public and may appear in print.
Find more Student Opinion questions here. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate these prompts into your classroom.
