Think about it: Prevost so identified with the oppressed that he became a citizen of Peru, the home of the great liberation theologian, Gustavo Gutierrez. Could Leo's election be another affirmation of liberation theology and of "Americans" need to identify with the Global South? Whether intended or not, the attentive can make such connection.
Prevost & Social Justice
In any case, Prevost's clear identification with the oppressed was further underlined by his papal name, Leo XIV.
The name suggests the new pope's intention to continue his 19th century namesake's landmark contribution to "the best kept secret of the Catholic Church," viz., its social justice teachings which are rarely mentioned from North American pulpits.
Nevertheless, the Church's constantly reiterated teachings on economic and political justice highlight themes of:
- Life and Dignity of the Human Person. ...
- Call to Family, Community, and Participation. ...
- Rights and Responsibilities. ...
- Preferential Option for the Poor. ...
- The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers. ...
- Solidarity. ...
- Care for God's Creation.
Along these lines, in 1891, Leo XIII wrote perhaps the most important papal encyclical of all time. (Papal encyclicals are pastoral letters written by popes for the whole Roman Catholic Church on matters of doctrine, morals, or discipline.) I'm referring to Rerum Novarum on "The Condition of the Working Class." While affirming the right to private property, Rerum Novarum even more centrally asserted the dignity of labor, and the right of workers to form labor unions. For its time, it was revolutionary.
The encyclical was so important that three popes have specifically repeated and updated its radical teachings.
In 1931 Pius XI did so in Quadragesimo Anno published in the middle of the Great Depression. Quadragesimo Anno began with the words, "Forty years have passed since Leo XIII's peerless Encyclical, On the Condition of Workers, first saw the light, and the whole Catholic world, filled with grateful recollection, is undertaking to commemorate it with befitting solemnity.
Forty years later in 1971, Paul VI commemorated Rerum Novarum again with his own Octogesima Adveniens. It identified action in the political arena as an essential element of Christian faith. Paul VI's document begins with the words, "The eightieth anniversary of the publication of the encyclical Rerum Novarum, the message of which continues to inspire action for social justice, prompts us to take up again and to extend the teaching of our predecessors, in response to the new needs of a changing world."
A final specific reiteration of Rerum Novarum was promulgated by Pope John Paul II in his Centesimus Annus published in 1991. Its first words are "The Centenary of the promulgation of the Encyclical which begins with the words "Rerum novarum",1 by my predecessor of venerable memory Pope Leo XIII, is an occasion of great importance for the present history of the Church and for my own Pontificate."
Meanwhile, in 1965, the Second Vatican Council published what many consider its fundamental document, Gaudium et Spes, "The Church in the Modern World." In what remains the official teaching of the Catholic Church, the Council document (like Rerum Novarum) declared the Church to be an agent of social transformation. It called on Catholics to constantly read "the signs of the times," to denounce social injustices and contribute to identification of appropriate remedies. The church is humanist, the Council said, in that humanity itself is central to its philosophical and theological thinking. Moreover, human beings are not primarily individuals, but essentially members of communities.
In other words, Leo XIII remains an unforgettable giant in the history of the Catholic Church. Despite its not being acknowledged from U.S. pulpits, his teaching about social justice constitutes a central element of Roman Catholic official doctrine. Robert Provost's assumption of his name represents yet another reiteration of Rerum Novarum's centrality.
The New Pope's Promise
So, what does all of this portend for Leo XIV's reign?
It suggests:
- A continuation not only of the tradition of Leo XIII, but of Prevost's immediate predecessor and patron, Pope Francis.
- Yet another encyclical in the spirit of Rerum Novarum
- This time incorporating the environmental themes of Francis' Laudato Si' (2015) which remains perhaps the most important document of the 21st century on climate change.
- Leo XIV as an outspoken voice concerning the climatic and imperial causes of Global South immigration to Europe and North America.
- Denunciations of U.S. forever wars as responses to global crises.
In other words, amid of one of our planet's darkest hours, the election of Leo XIV could signal a highly significant turning point towards the light.
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