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Breaking News: First American Pope Elected
The Catholic Church made history with the election of Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo the 14th, marking the first time an American has ascended to the papacy. Born in Chicago, Prevost's selection came as a shock to observers who traditionally expected the conclave to avoid choosing a pope from the world's reigning superpower. Charlie Kirk and his panel of Catholic experts, including Father Frank Pavone and John Henry Westen, provided immediate reaction and analysis to this groundbreaking development.
The announcement caught nearly everyone off guard. As Kirk admitted, he had told staffers just the day before that the conclave would probably never pick an American pope. Prevost had been considered a second or third-tier candidate at best, yet in the span of roughly 36 hours before the conclave, every major liberal-leaning outlet including The New York Times, The Guardian, and National Catholic Reporter ran favorable stories about him.
Financial Realities and American Influence
John Henry Westen offered insight into why the conclave might have broken with tradition to elect an American. The Vatican faces severe financial difficulties, nearly approaching bankruptcy after Catholics worldwide reduced their giving over the past 12 years during Pope Francis's tenure. Americans were particularly upset when Pope Francis used funds from the Peter's Pence collection to give half a million dollars to migration efforts at the U.S. border.
The timing proved significant. The election coincided with what's called America Week, when major Catholic American philanthropists gather in Rome annually to discuss their charitable giving. With Americans funding an estimated 50 percent or more of Vatican operations, these donors made their preference clear: they wanted a pope who would bring things back to a more traditional direction. The financial pressure may have influenced the conclave's historic decision.
Language and Global Communication
Another practical consideration favored an American pope. English serves as the governing language of international diplomacy and communication. Under Pope Francis, confusion often arose about his statements when speaking in Italian or Spanish. An American pope who handles English fluently can communicate more effectively with world leaders and avoid the translation issues that plagued the previous papacy.
Early Concerns and Cautious Optimism
Despite the historic nature of the selection, concerns emerged immediately. Pope Leo the 14th had criticized Vice President JD Vance on social media back in February, posting that "JD Vance is wrong. Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others." He also retweeted content related to George Floyd in 2020. According to the College of Cardinals Report, a comprehensive 500-page analysis prepared by Edward Pentin and Diane Montagna, his positions on key issues raised red flags for traditional Catholics.
John Henry Westen expressed significant concerns while maintaining hope that the responsibility of the papacy might change the man. He noted that Pope Leo the 14th had been ambiguous on same-sex blessings, an issue where Scripture provides clear guidance. During his initial remarks, the new pope used the word "dialogue," which Westen said has been hijacked by progressive elements within the church to mean welcoming people without calling them to repentance. The fact that liberal newspapers ran positive coverage in the three days before his election served as another warning sign.
The Significance of the Name Leo
The choice of the papal name Leo carries meaning. The Catholic Church hasn't had a Pope Leo in over a century. Leo XIII, who reigned for 25 years from 1878 to 1903, was one of the longest-serving popes in history. He became known as the "prisoner of the Vatican" because after Italy conquered the Papal States, he refused to leave Vatican City for his entire pontificate.
Leo XIII pioneered papal engagement with modern economic and social issues, writing encyclicals that addressed the relationship between capital and labor, workers' rights, and what he called "subsidiarity"—the principle that decisions should be made at the most local level possible rather than imposed by distant authorities. He attempted to carve out a distinctly Catholic position between socialism and unfettered capitalism. By choosing this name, Pope Leo the 14th may be signaling an intention to follow a similar path of social engagement while maintaining doctrinal principles.
The Augustinian Connection
Pope Leo the 14th may be the first pope from the Order of St. Augustine, having served as prior of that religious order. Father Denis Wilde, associate director at Priests for Life and also an Augustinian, knew the new pope when Prevost was at Villanova University, where he started Villanovans for Life, a pro-life student organization. This connection to the pro-life movement provided some encouragement to those concerned about his positions.
What This Means for America
Father Frank Pavone noted that one concern with Pope Francis was his apparent lack of understanding or appreciation for American politics and culture. While Pope Leo the 14th won't necessarily be a pro-Trump pope, his familiarity with America should enable better working relationships with the Trump administration than existed previously. The new pope will likely make multiple trips to America, which could generate renewed public interest in the papacy and the Catholic Church.
However, panel members warned of inevitable media manipulation. American and international media will attempt to manufacture and amplify any perceived conflict between the American pope and the American president. Catholics and observers must resist falling into this trap, refusing to let hostile media outlets interpret papal statements through their own ideological filters.
Early Indicators to Watch
Father Pavone emphasized that the clearest indication of Pope Leo the 14th's direction will come from his appointments. Having previously served in charge of the Congregation for Bishops, responsible for selecting bishops worldwide, he has extensive experience in ecclesiastical appointments. Whom he appoints as bishops and to key Vatican offices will reveal his priorities more clearly than his speeches.
The new pope's coat of arms features the motto "In the one Christ we are one." In his first remarks after election, he began by talking about the risen Christ rather than himself, which Pavone viewed as an encouraging sign. This motto may point toward efforts to heal divisions within the Catholic Church and the wider body of Christ while keeping focus on Jesus as the head of the church.
An Unexpected Political Detail
In a surprising detail uncovered by the Turning Point Action team, Pope Leo the 14th is a registered Republican who voted in Republican primaries while living in America before his service in Peru. As the panel noted, someone wouldn't vote in Republican primaries in Chicago unless they genuinely held those convictions. This suggests he may be a single-issue pro-life voter, which would align with traditional Catholic teaching on the sanctity of life.
The Paradox of Church Growth
John Henry Westen pointed out an interesting paradox. Despite one of the most confusing pontificates under Pope Francis, Catholic conversions in America actually rose. This suggests that the pope's positions don't determine everything about church growth. Like the Trump movement, which succeeded through grassroots engagement rather than just one personality, the church grows through the witness of individual Catholics living out their faith and pursuing holiness. Whatever the new pope's positions, American Catholics bear responsibility for creating conversions through their own Christ-like witness.
Moving Forward with Prayer and Vigilance
The panel concluded by acknowledging both hope and concern. The office of pope can shape the man who holds it, and the immense responsibility of leading 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide may bring out qualities not previously evident. At the same time, honest assessment of his record prior to election shows reasons for caution. Over the coming weeks and months, Catholics and observers will watch his appointments, listen to his messages, and evaluate whether this papacy represents a course correction from the Francis years or a continuation with an American accent.
John Henry Westen led the group in prayer, asking God to bless Pope Leo the 14th in his role, to bless Christians around the world, and ultimately to keep everyone centered on what truly matters: reaching heaven and bringing others along. The prayer reflected the approach Catholics should take—supporting their pope while maintaining focus on Christ and the eternal truths of the faith.
Video Transcript
[00:00] Uh that is the first American pope. Is
[00:02] that right? If if we heard that
[00:04] correctly. Robert Francis Provost. Uh
[00:06] Pope Leo the 14th 14th. Uh John, that is
[00:10] the first ever American pope. John, this
[00:12] was not on anyone's
[00:15] uh card. John, please. Uh so sort of
[00:20] this guy came in the running the last
[00:23] minute. Now this uh to be quite frank,
[00:26] okay? Uh roughly three days ago,
[00:28] Charlie, in a span of roughly 36 hours,
[00:32] every single major what you and I would
[00:36] call liberalleaning outlet ran PR uh
[00:40] stories in favor of this guy. That
[00:42] includes the New York Times. I think the
[00:44] Guardian had an article and this guy a
[00:46] national Catholic reporter which is like
[00:49] the anti-atholic paper. Okay. So all
[00:51] these guy all these papers all of a
[00:53] sudden did this huge ground support for
[00:57] Robert Prevost. Okay. So what does that
[01:00] I mean where does that tell you about
[01:02] what kind of man this is? I mean time
[01:04] will tell. I myself do not know him
[01:06] well. Um I have heard concerns about him
[01:11] uh that he leans in the direction of
[01:14] Francis. Uh but you know let's give this
[01:16] guy of course the benefit of the doubt.
[01:18] uh if he hasn't even come on loach yet,
[01:20] let's just see, you know, uh uh who he
[01:23] is and how he will govern the church uh
[01:26] in this next time ahead. But just that
[01:28] is an interesting biographical fact that
[01:30] he shot to the the head of everyone's
[01:32] thoughts and minds about 3 days ago. One
[01:35] second. First American pope. Wow.
[01:38] [Music]
[01:49] Okay. Well, the first American pope,
[01:50] keep keep talking, John. Um, he seems to
[01:53] be some people say he's a centrist,
[01:55] blending progressivism with traditional
[01:58] doctrine. Born in Chicago, so I have
[02:00] that in common. Uh, so what do we think
[02:04] here, John? Why do you think he was
[02:05] selected?
[02:07] Okay, so there's the US element. That's
[02:09] right. I mean, he's lived all around.
[02:10] born in the the the best city in the
[02:12] world, Chicago, where where I'm also
[02:13] from, Charlie. Um, you know, there's
[02:16] American element here, too. And let me
[02:17] tell you why that might be. Again, like
[02:19] we've said before, traditionally, almost
[02:21] never does a conclave choose a pope from
[02:24] the world's reigning superpower just for
[02:26] credential reasons. But there's a
[02:29] pragmatic reality going on here. The
[02:31] Vatican is b is almost bankrupt, right?
[02:34] Uh people stopped giving to the Vatican
[02:36] the last 12 years. And honestly, it was
[02:39] welld deserved. I mean, for instance, we
[02:42] had money that we had given as Catholics
[02:44] across the world to the Peters Pence
[02:45] collection. Pope Francis and his wisdom
[02:48] decided to give half a million uh to the
[02:51] immigrant migration bans that were
[02:52] coming across to our border. So,
[02:55] Americans were rightly upset. Uh now,
[02:57] when you make a when you when you piss
[02:59] off Americans, considering that we fund,
[03:03] you know, I I'm just taking a ballpark
[03:05] guess at least 50% of the Vatican. Okay.
[03:08] Well, that's not a good business model.
[03:09] So, you know, this week coincided with
[03:11] what's called America week when a lot of
[03:13] the big uh bigger name Catholic American
[03:15] philanthropists gather in Rome once a
[03:17] year and they kind of discuss uh uh
[03:19] where they want to give their money,
[03:21] right, which is a great thing. Well, I
[03:23] know that they made their presence felt
[03:25] saying, you know, we definitely want a a
[03:28] pope is going to bring things back. So,
[03:30] who knows? that might be a contributing
[03:31] factor that the Conflate knew that it
[03:33] had to get, you know, get the good
[03:35] graces of the American lady back there
[03:37] um to help with their financial
[03:38] situation because obviously they do some
[03:39] good work, uh the Vatican does there and
[03:41] that and that with the works of charity.
[03:43] So that might be an interesting angle
[03:46] about why there you go. You got the flag
[03:48] in the square. You got the uh the red,
[03:49] white, and blue uh flying uh flying
[03:52] proud there. So it's interesting,
[03:54] Charlie. Time will tell about where uh
[03:57] Pope Prevost or whoever the name I
[03:59] missed the name or Leo the 14th how Pope
[04:01] Leo I 14th will conduct his affairs.
[04:05] Uh do we still have So Blake, what this
[04:07] is a shock first ever American pope. I I
[04:09] was literally yesterday I was telling
[04:11] one of the staffers I was like, "Okay,
[04:12] there's various contenders. They'll
[04:13] probably never pick an Americanist
[04:15] pope." And I just got I got owned very
[04:18] badly. I did fortunately say all
[04:21] predictions wrong or your money back and
[04:23] you get total surprise ones and this is
[04:26] definitely uh like you said there was
[04:29] some coverage of him as a potential pope
[04:32] but very much second third tier even of
[04:35] the potential candidates. Um there will
[04:37] be a lot of efforts to define him. I
[04:40] suspect this can go in directions people
[04:43] don't expect very quickly. So I don't I
[04:45] don't want to assume anything. He might
[04:47] be I'm looking trying to see here. He
[04:49] might be the first August order of St.
[04:51] Augustine. You were asking me about uh
[04:54] uh orders of priest just the other day.
[04:56] Um and I think he might be the first
[04:59] pope from that order. He was the prior
[05:01] of of them. But uh oh man, this is this
[05:04] is big. I I I had a weird feeling. I was
[05:07] like, what if they're from America? And
[05:08] I was like, nah, no way. Yes, John.
[05:12] There's one thing, too. Um the reality
[05:14] of the modern language. I mean, we don't
[05:16] speak Latin anymore. Uh, and you know,
[05:18] we need a pope that can handle the
[05:20] English language really well, right?
[05:22] It's the governing language of the
[05:24] world. So, we missed that with under
[05:26] Frances. And a lot of times there was
[05:27] confusion about what did he really mean?
[05:30] He was speaking in Italian. He's
[05:31] speaking in Spanish. Well, we now have a
[05:33] pope who can handle himself well because
[05:36] he's going to be dealing with leaders
[05:37] from all over the world. And that is
[05:38] like like we know, it's the lingua, you
[05:40] know, it's the it's the language of uh
[05:42] it's the new French. It's it's what
[05:44] politicians speak among themselves. So,
[05:46] in that sense, it's a good thing. There
[05:48] there's a great website called
[05:50] collegeofcardinalsreport.com where they
[05:52] grade his stances on stuff. Uh and his
[05:55] grades aren't very important, by the
[05:56] way. Yeah. Uh we're going to read that.
[05:58] That report,
[06:00] Charlie, that report is legit. Okay.
[06:03] Edward Penn and Diane Montan, who
[06:05] actually standing to the left of me,
[06:07] they're the ones who put that 500page
[06:09] report together. It is the best in the
[06:11] world. Hold that. Hold that thought.
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[07:06] delivered. Okay. Uh that you are
[07:08] watching history here. Again, we're
[07:10] still learning about uh this new pope.
[07:11] He is officially the pope. Is that
[07:13] right? Um there's that but there is an
[07:15] official I think there's no there's no
[07:16] electoral college on this one. No, but
[07:18] there is an official ceremony next
[07:20] Sunday, I believe, where all the heads
[07:21] of state come in. Uh and look, the the
[07:24] Pope, we don't know a lot. We do know
[07:25] that he attacked JD Vance back in
[07:27] February. I believe this is a legitimate
[07:29] Twitter account. Uh he said JD Vance is
[07:31] wrong. Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our
[07:34] love for others.
[07:36] Boy, that's a misinterpretation what JD
[07:38] was saying, but okay, we'll see. We'll
[07:40] find out more. So, uh, now we have Frank
[07:42] Pavone. Uh, Frank, great to see you.
[07:44] Thank you for taking the time. What is,
[07:46] uh, your reaction to this new
[07:48] announcement?
[07:49] Well, I'm astonished that they chose an
[07:51] American. What a surprise. Um, and I
[07:54] have some connections to this cardinal.
[07:56] Uh, our, you know, our associate
[07:57] director at Priest for Life is also an
[07:59] Austinian, Father Dennis Wild. He's been
[08:01] with us since 1998. and uh he he knew uh
[08:06] uh the the new pope uh when he was at
[08:08] Villanova and and he started um POS
[08:12] started Villanovven's for life and um we
[08:15] know you know this there's a lot to be
[08:17] unpacked here um but you know the name
[08:20] Leo that's important as well and I'm
[08:22] sure a lot of comment is going to be
[08:24] about you know what is he trying to
[08:25] convey by Leo Leo the 14th Leo the 13th
[08:29] was known of course for his emphasis on
[08:31] Catholic social teaching ing and um
[08:34] enabling the church to speak to the
[08:36] modern age when it came to uh the social
[08:39] doctrine of the church. So hopefully
[08:42] there we're going to see uh a um a
[08:45] better handling of this than we saw
[08:48] under Francis and uh a little bit more
[08:51] uh doctrine put in along with just the
[08:54] idea of embracing and accompanying
[08:56] people. But that remains to be seen. I'm
[08:58] confident that we've done now what I
[09:01] thought we were going to do, what I
[09:03] thought the Cardinals were going to do
[09:04] was to make some kind of a course
[09:06] correction. I don't think this is going
[09:08] to be uh Francis II. Um but a lot
[09:12] remains to be seen because Charlie, the
[09:14] office shapes the man also, you know,
[09:16] and and and and I think we're going to
[09:18] see that happen too. Uh so what what
[09:21] then is the
[09:23] expectation? Will how does this work?
[09:25] Does a pope give like a couple formal
[09:27] speeches to kind of set the tone of his
[09:30] papacy? H how does that work, Frank?
[09:33] We will see a few things start to
[09:35] happen. One of the most important
[09:37] things, just like we see in the civic
[09:38] arena, is what kind of appointments he
[09:41] will start making. Now, it's interesting
[09:43] they chose a man here who was in charge
[09:45] of the congregation for bishops. So over
[09:48] recent uh uh years he has been
[09:52] responsible for the selection of bishops
[09:55] which of course is a primary
[09:56] responsibility of the pope to assign
[09:58] bishops to dasceses. So we're going to
[10:01] see very soon not only in terms of whom
[10:03] he appoints as bishops but whom he
[10:06] appoints in the various offices of the
[10:08] Vatican because he has the prerogative
[10:09] to you know bring in his own people or
[10:12] to let those who are in place now stay
[10:14] in place. I would look at that as much
[10:16] as um the speeches he will give. He will
[10:19] be giving speeches now regularly. Uh uh
[10:22] hopefully he'll be of the style where uh
[10:24] we hear a lot from him. You know, hopes
[10:26] that uh you know, we'll preach every day
[10:28] and and and and send out lots of uh
[10:31] messages. I think that's good. I hope he
[10:33] uh takes the social media right away for
[10:36] the sake of transparency. Um but yes, we
[10:39] will see over the next few weeks we'll
[10:41] be able to assess I think pretty quickly
[10:43] the direction in which his uh thinking
[10:45] is going to go. So uh Taylor Marshall uh
[10:49] is saying this is bad. But I mean again
[10:51] I'm not trying I'm not even weighing in
[10:52] on it. This is not my thing. Right.
[10:54] John, what do you think here? I mean I
[10:56] want we want to keep this uplifting and
[10:58] I'm trying to I'm the Protestant here. I
[11:00] want a good conservative
[11:03] traditionalbased pro-life. What did we
[11:05] get here?
[11:08] I think just I think honesty is the best
[11:12] uh recipe for for true enthusiasm and
[11:15] hope and I I have to admit I do have
[11:18] cause for concern for great concern
[11:20] although what father Frank was just
[11:22] saying it's also true that you know a
[11:25] pope someone can change once they've
[11:28] been handed the responsibility of 1.2
[11:30] two billion Catholics, right? But prior
[11:33] to this, I mean, the scorecard speaks
[11:35] for itself, you know, Poland in the
[11:39] 1950s,60s,7s, 80s made Caroli, John Paul
[11:43] II. In the same way, FBOS, Pope Leo I
[11:47] 14th carries his background. And you
[11:49] said it yourself, what's the scorecard?
[11:52] He was ambiguous on same-sex blessings.
[11:56] I'm sorry, but the Bible is not
[11:59] ambiguous on that central issue. So, he
[12:02] also in during his speech, you know,
[12:03] there was, you know, good and said a lot
[12:06] of the the right things. I mean, but he
[12:08] did use that word dialogue. dialogue has
[12:12] been hijacked by the left inside our
[12:16] church and outside of our church church
[12:18] as it's kind of a false idea that we can
[12:21] uh yes talk with the world but never
[12:24] call them to repentance. You're going to
[12:26] laugh but I'm looking behind there's
[12:28] another rooftop and on that rooftop
[12:30] right now is a priest by the name of
[12:32] father James Martin. He's caused great
[12:35] scandal in the Catholic church and what
[12:37] does he run with? He was very close to
[12:38] Pope Francis and he ran with dialogue.
[12:41] Let's let's welcome everyone in the
[12:43] church but never call them in
[12:44] repentance. I'm sorry but you can't do
[12:46] that. You must be like Christ and you
[12:50] know address their sin. So we'll see.
[12:52] You know um time will tell. Don't forget
[12:55] if the New York Times or the liberal
[12:57] newspapers are running positive media
[12:59] about you that should make you think
[13:01] twice. And that is what happened last
[13:04] three days with Cardinal Prevos. But you
[13:07] know, I think Charlie uh it would be
[13:09] good at some point maybe we just we'd
[13:11] offer a prayer in our own way for for
[13:12] this man for the mission that he is
[13:14] about to undertake. Okay. I mean, look,
[13:17] not not everyone was doing it in 2020.
[13:18] Well, not us, but uh Mr. Pos, the new
[13:21] pope, was retweeting uh George Floyd
[13:24] propaganda, but that is what it is.
[13:25] Whatever. So, um again, I'm not I'm not
[13:27] Catholic, so you guys can sort this out
[13:29] amongst yourselves. Let's talk about the
[13:30] American aspect of this. Um I'll start
[13:32] with you, Frank. Frank, what do you
[13:34] think this will mean for the country,
[13:35] for our nation that we love to have a
[13:38] pope from America? He's also from He's
[13:40] from America, but he served in Peru, but
[13:42] he will be known as the American Pope.
[13:44] And also just what is there something
[13:46] else going on here? Why they would go
[13:48] out of their way to choose an American
[13:49] pope?
[13:50] Frank, that that's the most surprising
[13:53] element of this to me. And and I think
[13:55] that we can first of all say one of my
[13:57] concerns, you know, our concerns with
[14:00] Pope Francis was he didn't seem to
[14:02] understand or appreciate uh what was
[14:04] going on here in America uh our American
[14:07] politics certainly. And uh you know not
[14:10] to say that this is uh uh necessarily
[14:13] going to be a you know pro Trump uh pope
[14:16] uh but I have the hope that you know at
[14:19] least coming from a more of a
[14:21] familiarity with America he will be able
[14:24] to work better with the Trump
[14:26] administration than Pope Francis did. Um
[14:29] now having said that again we'll have to
[14:31] just see the specifics as they unfold.
[14:34] Uh the other thought is very interesting
[14:35] like what you said about John Paul going
[14:37] back to Poland. Certainly he's going to
[14:40] make trips to America and uh I think
[14:42] this can um really engage the attention
[14:45] of the American public to you know what
[14:48] is what is a pope anyway you know and
[14:49] get get a renewed interest in what is
[14:52] going on with the Catholic Church. Um,
[14:54] but I'm even more excited about the
[14:55] other the in the opposite direction or
[14:57] how the understanding of America and our
[15:00] constitution and our system of
[15:01] government will affect the way he uh
[15:04] leads the whole church and the way he
[15:06] works with the current administration.
[15:09] Stay right there. One final
[15:12] segment. I'll go through it. John, what
[15:14] is your thought of an American pope?
[15:17] What what will this mean for our
[15:18] homeland?
[15:21] I mean, on its face, you know, it could
[15:23] be do some a lot of good. Like Father
[15:25] Frank said, there's he's going to make
[15:26] some trips probably to the United
[15:27] States, which they had large gatherings.
[15:30] Uh, but here's another thing to throw at
[15:32] you. We've had arguably one of the most
[15:34] confusing pontificates under Pope
[15:36] Francis. Well, what have the numbers
[15:38] shown? We've had a rise in the number of
[15:42] Catholic conversions across the country.
[15:44] Uh so it's kind of a paradox in some
[15:46] ways that you might have a pope who
[15:48] wasn't whatever you know more
[15:50] progressive but yet you had all these
[15:51] convergence. So it's not necessarily uh
[15:54] symmetrical. Uh it can help for sure uh
[15:58] but you know that remains to be seen. I
[16:00] think at the end of the day what's going
[16:02] to create conversions it you know it's
[16:05] kind of like how Trump won the White
[16:08] House. It wasn't Trump that won the
[16:10] White House. He did of course on his
[16:11] personality but it was us who saw our
[16:14] task our own mission. In this case it's
[16:17] a mission of holiness of getting to
[16:18] heaven and becoming Christlike which is
[16:21] going to create the witness and create
[16:22] more conversion. So pope or not,
[16:24] American or not, gringo or not, holy
[16:26] pope or or or sinner pope, it's up to
[16:30] us. That that's how we're going to make
[16:31] the change. I really believe that. Stay
[16:32] right there. More after the break.
[16:38] [Music]
[16:42] They're really playing into the more
[16:43] religious theme here, right? Like like
[16:45] what can we expect out of an American
[16:47] pope? And then you want to go more into
[16:48] the history. Yeah. Well, so an American
[16:50] pop what we can expect and this is not
[16:52] even necessarily the fault of the new
[16:54] pope. 100% you will see obviously a big
[16:58] attempt by media in the US, media
[17:00] worldwide to play up any conflict
[17:03] between the American Pope and the
[17:05] American president. Even if he doesn't
[17:08] play into that directly, they will do
[17:09] it. They will hype it up. They will try.
[17:11] They will try to generate that. So, we
[17:12] have to be ready for that. We have to be
[17:14] ready to not fall into this trap where
[17:16] like, "Oh, this like atheist guy at the
[17:19] New York Times is saying the Pope said
[17:21] this, so I have to agree with what the
[17:23] atheist guy at the New York Times says
[17:25] I'm supposed to think about what the
[17:26] Pope says about the president." You
[17:28] can't fall for this stuff. Don't Don't
[17:31] let it brainwash you in any way. There
[17:34] will be attempts to do that. Uh, I've
[17:36] been spending while we've been talking
[17:37] here, I was looking up he's Leo the
[17:39] 14th. We haven't had a Leo Pope in over
[17:41] a hundred years. Uh, we don't know for
[17:44] sure who this was inspired by, but a
[17:46] good bet is you look at the last guy to
[17:47] hold that name. Uh, Leo I 13th was pope
[17:51] for quite a long time, about 25 years.
[17:53] He's one of the longest reigning popes
[17:55] ever. Uh, he's pretty interesting. He's
[17:57] from a period where they were called the
[17:58] prisoner of the Vatican. So, uh, Italy
[18:00] had conquered the Papal States, which
[18:02] used to be a thing. And because the pope
[18:05] did not recognize this, for the 25 years
[18:07] he was pope, he did not leave Vatican
[18:09] City. So 25 years just in that little
[18:12] St. Peter's Basilica area, could not
[18:15] leave, refused to leave, I should say.
[18:17] Uh but what Leo the 13th was interesting
[18:19] about, he was kind of the first pope to
[18:22] really engage with what we would call
[18:25] modernday like economic and social
[18:28] issues. So he wrote encyclicals where he
[18:30] would say basically uh capital has duty
[18:34] to labor. You have to treat workers
[18:35] well. Workers have to have certain
[18:37] rights. And this would cause people to
[18:38] have different takes on him. They would
[18:40] say he was you know favorable that it
[18:42] was like pro-socialist or proto Marxist.
[18:44] It wasn't really. He was more kind of
[18:46] cutting a middle path between uh sort of
[18:50] you know left-wing economics and like
[18:53] capitalism carving trying to carve out
[18:55] his own sort of Catholic position on it.
[18:57] Another thing he promoted which I think
[18:59] we would have some sympathy with is he
[19:01] called it uh subsidiarity which is that
[19:04] decisions generally should be made at a
[19:08] local at a smaller level rather than
[19:10] imposed uh by very high up authorities
[19:14] as a principle of government. And you
[19:16] know as American conservatives we're
[19:18] obviously sympathetic to that uh in an
[19:20] innate sort of way. So that's just
[19:23] looking at what he might be drawing
[19:25] inspiration from. I think initially we
[19:27] could look at well he picked this guy's
[19:30] name. So I think you'll see a lot of
[19:31] people talking about that in the days to
[19:33] come. Final thoughts Frank and then
[19:35] we'll throw it to John. Uh Frank final
[19:37] thoughts. You know one of the keys to
[19:39] the thinking of a bishop or a cardinal
[19:41] is his coat of arms. They have a
[19:44] particular uh choice of a motto that
[19:47] they put on their coat of arms. And for
[19:49] Cardinal Pvost it is in the one Christ
[19:53] we are one. And I like that very much
[19:56] because obviously, you know, and he
[19:58] started out his remarks today by doing
[20:00] what? By talking about the risen Christ.
[20:02] You know, he didn't start by talking
[20:03] about himself. And this is really what a
[20:05] pope is supposed to do. Uh and in the
[20:07] one Christ, we are one. Uh gives we're
[20:10] going to have to unpack that in the
[20:12] coming weeks and months and see how
[20:14] that's a key to his thinking. But uh it
[20:17] could it could point to a good effort to
[20:19] heal uh the divisions that have happened
[20:21] in the church. Certainly the divisions
[20:22] among the wider body of Christ. Uh and
[20:24] of course what always has to be front
[20:27] and center for pointing to the one Lord
[20:30] and head of the church who is Jesus
[20:32] Christ. Take this for whatever it's
[20:34] worth. He is a registered Republican.
[20:36] Our Turning Point Action team actually
[20:38] pulled this. He No, this is I'm not
[20:40] kidding. This is credit to Tyler in
[20:42] turning point action and he voted in
[20:44] Republican primaries when he was not uh
[20:46] living in Peru. Final thoughts, John
[20:50] Charlie, are you okay if I lead you all
[20:51] in a prayer just for the what this means
[20:53] around the world? Yes.
[20:56] Uh we ask the heavenly father right now
[21:00] to bless Christians around this world in
[21:02] this moment for the universal church. We
[21:04] ask Christians to renew their love for
[21:07] the Lord and may he bless us right now.
[21:10] Bless Robert Prebos and his role as as
[21:13] pope of Catholics around the world. And
[21:16] we ask that our lady be close to him and
[21:18] ultimately keep us centered on what
[21:22] truly matters, reaching heaven and
[21:24] bringing people there with us. The name
[21:26] of Jesus Christ, the Lord. Amen. Amen.
[21:30] Thank you, John. Thank you, Frank and
[21:32] Blake. We'll wrap this up about 30
[21:33] seconds. Thank you, guys. Uh I know this
[21:35] was a live breaking show. Thank you to
[21:37] Parker and Rob Sig from Real America's
[21:39] Voice for allowing us to go through two
[21:40] hours straight here. Uh, and there is a
[21:42] new pope. It is Leo the 14th, right? Leo
[21:45] the 14th. Pope Leo the 14th from
[21:47] Chicago. I got to wear my Cubs hat
[21:50] tomorrow. And he is a registered
[21:52] Republican who votes in Republican
[21:53] primaries. The primary is the key. If he
[21:55] was like faking it, he wouldn't vote in
[21:57] the Republican primaries in Chicago.
[21:59] That's like a you would not do that
[22:00] unless you actually believe it. So, he
[22:02] might be a single issue pro-life voter,
[22:03] which honestly would be, you know, not
[22:06] the worst thing. Email us freedom
[22:09] charharliekirk.com. See you guys
[22:10] tomorrow.
[22:14] [Music]
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