Today, Pope Leo XIV received the Ring of the Fisherman. Since the majority of readers of this are not Roman Catholics, but are most likely Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Jews, Mormons, Muslins, Buddhists, and Hindus, the question is, how does the installation of St. Peter’s successor as the Bishop of Rome affect you? Many will scoff at the pope’s importance. Some are pleased, while others are quite angry with the pope. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was so ticked off at Pope Francis that a diplomatic social media post offering condolences on his passing was first posted and then removed. Today, Israel’s president attended the installation. Such are the winds of politics.
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So the pope, whose role is to be a source of unity, is sometimes seen as a source of polarization. The church he heads sees itself as the soul of the world and as its voice of conscience. The idea of being in the world and not of the world does not often go unchallenged. As a bishop once quipped, “When Saint Paul came to a town, there were riots. When I come to a town, they serve tea.”
And so it is with Pope Leo and President Donald Trump. They are two Americans from what are called America’s first and second cities, New York and Chicago. These are both ethnic cities with diverse populations. And, when they come to town, sometimes people serve tea, and sometimes they riot.
Leo and Trump are also the only two world leaders who are struggling to focus international attention on the idea of world peace. They are big advocates of talking with people they don’t always agree with and put this belief into practice. The fancy diplomatic word for this is dialogue. “Jaw, jaw, is better than war, war,” as Winston Churchill put it. Their styles are very different, but their intention seems to be to row in the same direction, towards the shores of peace.
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Both these men stand at a pivotal point in history. Leo is likely to be the last pope who was even alive during the Second Vatican Council and dealt with men in the church trained in the shadow of the First Vatican Council. Trump grew up in the shadow of World War II leaders, who in turn had grown up in the shadow of the post-Civil War generation.
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Today, a future generation beckons. These are young men and women not tied to pet projects and outlooks forged in the shadow of the Second World War and the Cold War, and the shock and disillusionment they left in their wake. Both will need to struggle to see which way the winds of societal change are blowing and how to best respond in this moment in history.
So yes, there is a lot to be said even in worldly terms for the head of state of a country about an eighth of the size of New York City’s Central Park. This is the seventh pope in my lifetime, and each time I am surprised. When anyone sincerely prays to the Holy Spirit for guidance about a lifetime vocation, as in the Conclave, the road can be bumpy, and the answer isn’t always obvious or immediate. Having two such American leaders on the world stage at the same time is, at the very least, interesting. The course Pope Leo and President Trump set will surely have a long-lasting impact for weal or woe.Â
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