Leos on apostolic throne

Earlier, I spoke about three axes that would define this conclave: global West vs. South, Americanism vs. anti-Americanism, conservatism vs. liberalism. So, the conclave managed to combine only the global South and the West, with a tilt still toward the West. As for the second axis, Trump will be pleased. As for the third, the choice of name says more than anything else.

Here are the Popes named Leo in the past:

Leo I the Great (440–461) – it was under him that the papacy began to grow. He also resisted the barbarians who were capturing Rome.

Leo III (795–816) – crowned Charlemagne as emperor in 800.

Leo IV (847–855) – strengthened the Roman walls against Arab attacks.

Leo VIII (963–965) – appointed by Emperor Otto I. Considered an antipope.

Leo IX (1049–1054) – it was under him that the Great Schism with the East occurred, though he died shortly before it happened.

Leo X (1513–1521) – the Reformation happened during his papacy, and he excommunicated Martin Luther from the Church.

Leo XII (1823–1829) – a conservative pope after the Napoleonic wars.

Leo XIII (1878–1903) – obviously, this is the one Robert Prevost looked to when choosing his name. On the one hand, he issued the encyclical Rerum Novarum—a new word at the time on social justice. But he also became one of the apostles of the crusade against modernism and liberalism, which continued up to the Second Vatican Council. He was a pillar of neo-scholasticism, which was later opposed by the “new theology.” Among his main enemies were secularization and attempts to weaken the authority of the Roman See. However, he was not as radical as Popes Pius IX and Pius X before and after him.

All the parallels with the present are obvious. Draw your own conclusions.

P.S. For Ukraine, this may be a good choice.

Source

About the author: Kyrylo Hovorun, Doctor of Philosophy in Theology, Professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, Director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute.

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