Alf McCreary: The Catholic Church seems to have made a wise choice in Pope Leo XIV

The swiftness of the election was also an object -lesson to some other major churches, and not least the worldwide Anglican Communion which is looking for a leader in the person of a new Archbishop of Canterbury, following the early retirement of Justin Welby after claims that he had not properly dealt with an notorious child sex abuser John Smythe.

The Anglicans appointed a small group to choose a new leader but after many weeks there is still no sign of white smoke from any Canterbury or Lambeth chimney. People might be wondering what is going on, and even when the Anglican Church took its time to appoint Archbishop Welby his tenure of office ended under a cloud.

The first impressions about any new leader are vitally important. When Pope Francis initially appeared on the Vatican balcony as the new Pontiff, he asked the assembled thousands in Vatican Square to pray for him, before he prayed for them. That was not forgotten.

The first appearance of Pope Leo XIV on the balcony on Thursday evening was impressive. He looked confident, he spoke with authority, and he assured the people that he was their personal Bishop.He said that together he and the huge global congregation of Christians would work together to combat the forces of evil, in a world where so often the darkest of evils sometimes look like gaining the upper hand.

The new Pope’s credentials are striking. He was appointed a Cardinal quite recently by Francis, and he was twice the worldwide leader of the Augustinian Order. In that crucial post he proved himself as a spiritual leader and as an administrator.

He also has a high reputation as a Canon Lawyer, and in his short tenure in the Vatican he has gained respect on all sides. Bishop Donal McKeown from Derry met him on business in Rome last October, and he was impressed by the new Pope’s attention to detail and his willingness to listen carefully to what he had to say.

Certainly Robert Prevost seems to have all the right qualities to lead the Church in the same direction as his predecessor, with his emphasis on the poor, and the gap between the have’s and the have nots. This is underlined by his choice of title, the same as Pope Leo XIII (1810-1903) who had a similar mission away back then.

However Leo XIV also has an added and unique differentiation from all his predecessors. He is the first American to be elected Pope, and this has great significance. Ther was widespread speculation that the Conclave might elect a Cardinal from the developing world, especially as Pope Francis created a large number of new Cardinals from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

It appears that the Catholic Church now has the best of both worlds. Leo XIV is a leading Westerner, but he also has extensive experience of the developing world, and then most recently he has been made aware of the complex church politics in the Vatican, which is at the very heart of the universal Church.

There is yet another important dimension to this historic appointment in that two of the world’s leaders are both Americans. Robert Prevost, who was born in Chicago entered the Conclave this week as a relatively unknown Cardinal but has come out as the first “American” Pope.

Then there is that other American- the crass President Donald J. Trump -whose entire philosophy seems to be exploiting more and more ways to make money, much to the disgust of people who believe that there is much more to life than creating huge fortunes.

In the years to come it will be fascinating to see how this plays out, with America producing the leader of the faith world, and also the political leader of that vast country who believes that God saved him from assassination to make America great again. History has shown clearly that God does not work in that way.

The election of Pope Leo XIV coincided with the celebrations to mark the 80th anniversary of end of the Second World War in Europe, which was a savage period of evil personified by Hitler and his odious henchmen.

Until recently we believed the end of that War heralded the final stage of one of the most evil regimes that the world has ever known. How wrong we were. In recent years we have witnessed the dangerous rise of another manifestation of evil in Russia ,with the monstrous Putin following Stalin in his disregard for human life and suffering. So when the new Pope talks in his first public address about facing up to evil, he knows -and we know -that this evil is virtually on his doorstep.

In the days and weeks to come, the words and actions of Pope Leo XIV will be analysed and re-analysed by countless commentators through very many media outlets.

For the moment all we can say is that the Catholic Church seems to have made a wise choice, and that Pope Leo XIV has made a good start. Time will tell how it will all work out.

UIntil this week, Leo XIV was a relatively unknown Catholic priest, Bishop and Cardinal who was Christened Robert Prevost 69 years ago,and is an accomplished linguist who speaks several languages. What he needs now is to develop a universal language where he speaks to the hearts and minds of billions of people, and to prophesy that even in the face of the greatest evil there is still goodness, and hope for the world.

Alf McCreary is a former Religion Correspondent for the Belfast Telegraph and a long-time contributor to the paper. His latest book Keeping the Faiith is published by Messenger at £12.95 and is available in bookshops and on Amazon