Pope Leo XIV reveals for the first time in a book his position in some of the most controversial issues of the Church and, as already allowed to anticipate his attitude in the first four months of mandate, the line is the prudence and continuity of Francisco’s line, but without making changes in the doctrine. Robert Prevost speaks very clearly, avoiding ambiguities and emphasizes that, both in the Church and in the world.
The Pontiff affirms, for example, that, or towards the LGTBI+collective. The clearest example, and that marks the greatest distance with Francisco, is one of the points that created the greatest expectations, being American: “I have not planned to get involved in partisan politics. The Church is not about that.” And in another passage, speaking of political polarization, he reiterates: “I do not see that my main role is to try to be the solucity of the world’s problems.” In summary, as it has been seen, Prevost confirms that it takes a step back in the combative and prominence, in the front line, which characterized its predecessor.
Leo XIV makes these reflections in the first long interview he grants, the American journalist Elise Ann Allen, included in the book Leo XIV. Citizen of the World, Missionary of the 21st Centuryof 288 pages, which some extracts have already been advanced. It has gone this Thursday for sale in Peru and the debate publishing house will publish it in Spain on October 23. It is a biography of the Pontiff, with whom Allen made friends in Peru as of 2018 during his investigations on the abuses in the ultra -conservative Sodalicio group, then dissolved by Francisco in 2025, a process in which Prevost had an important role. The interview occupies the last 30 pages of volume.
On how his relationship with the White House will be, the Pope explains: “I am not afraid to raise issues that I think are true issues of the Gospel.” However, it emphasizes that, whom he sees as natural interlocutors of the church of each country with their governments. “It would be impossible for the Pope to get involved in countries individually to say ‘this is what you should be doing, that is what you should be thinking,” he says.
But in any case, the Pope even tends his hand to Trump: “If there were specific topics in which it was possible to commit to him, I would have no problem doing so (…) to continue raising some of the issues, especially about issues of human dignity, of promotion of peace in the world, which has sometimes made it clear that he wants to do, in those efforts I would like to support him.”
Leo XIV says that, during his visit to Rome, the question of “human dignity and how important it is for all people, regardless of where they are born, to find ways to respect human beings.” “Obviously, there are some things that are happening in the United States that are cause for concern,” says the Pontiff.
As for the situation in Gaza, the American-Peruvian Pope, about whether or not the Israeli offensive is a genocide, although we must bear in mind that the interview was conducted in summer: “The word genocide is being used more and more. In any case, the Pope warns: “It is so horrible to watch the images on television, hopefully this situation will change. Hopefully we do not become insensitive, because you cannot bear so much pain.”
On the role of women in the church, the pontiff says without Rodeos that he expects to “follow Francisco’s footsteps, including the designation of women in some leadership roles.” Now, he acknowledges that ordination is “a controversial issue” and, therefore, in his eagerness to create more tensions, he says that he will continue to study. And he concludes: “I think it will continue to be a problem. I, for the moment, have no intention of changing the teaching of the Church on the subject.”
The same goes for another issue very discussed in the Church,: “I do not have a plan right now,” he answers bluntly. But, again, he believes that “any issue related to LGBTQ issues is highly polarizing within the Church (…), I am trying not to continue promoting polarization in the Church.”
Sexual identity
Even so, the Pope extends in some reflections on the issue: “I remember something that a cardinal of the eastern part of the world told me before being a potato, that ‘the western world is obsessed with sexuality’. For some people, the identity of a person implies only sexual identity, and for many people, in other parts of the world, that is not a main topic in terms of how we should treat each other.” But in any case, it specifies that it follows Francisco, who said “very clearly”: “All, all, all.” “Everyone is invited to enter, but I do not invite a person because whether or not it is a specific identity. I invite a person because he is a son or a daughter of God,” Reason Prevost. “Everyone is welcome and we will know each other and respect us. People want the doctrine of the Church to change, they want attitudes to change. I think we have to change attitudes, even before thinking about changing what the Church says about any question given. It seems very unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the church doctrine changes in terms of what it teaches about sexuality and marriage,” he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says, he says. Instead, he believes that the priority is to support the traditional family (“the family is father, mother and children,” he says), as a pillar of society.
Remember, in this line, that he has already talked about marriage, that he is from a man and a woman, “but even saying that, I understand that some people will take it badly.” He explains that denying “does not mean that these people are bad.” “I understand that this is a very controversial issue and that some people will make demands to say ‘we want the recognition of gay marriage’, for example, or ‘We want the recognition of people who are trans, to say’ this is officially recognized and approved by the Church. ‘The individuals will be accepted and received.
The Pope also opts for a replication in the fight against, something that already. In summary, he says that his predecessor “recognized the importance of the problem, but, at the same time, that the issue of sexual abuse cannot become the central focus of the Church,” he argues. “We cannot make the whole church focus exclusively on this issue, because that would not be an authentic response to what the world needs in terms of the mission of the Church.”
He believes that there are still “some serious problems, in terms of protection of minors and how to respond to the crisis”, although 23 years have elapsed since the case of the Boston church that began the scandal throughout the world. “This will continue to take time, because the victims must be treated with great respect and with the understanding that those who have suffered very deep injuries because of the abuses sometimes carry those wounds throughout their lives.” He believes that it would be “naive” to think that it is enough for economic compensation or say goodbye to the priest so that the “wounds would simply disappear.”
However, then he points out that “one of the factors that complicate this, and on which people begin to demonstrate more and more, it has to do with the defendants also have rights, and many of them believe they have not been respected.” “Statistics show that more than 90 % of people who present and make accusations are authentic victims. They tell the truth. They are not inventing it. But there have also been proven cases of some type of false accusation. Priests whose lives have been destroyed for it,” he says. That is why he indicates, speaking of the excessive duration of the canonical processes, that “a reliable justice system that respects everyone’s rights takes time.” “The fact that the victim appears and makes an accusation and that the accusation is presumably precise, does not eliminate the presumption of innocence. So the priests also have to be protected, or the accused person has to be protected, their rights have to be respected. But even say that is sometimes the cause of greater pain for victims,” he admits. “So we are in a kind of squeeze there.”
The Pope also recognizes that it is frequent: “The Church has not always found the best way to handle, to process that with them. Many of us are, perhaps, still novices learning which is the best way to accompany these people in their pain. I think that this is one of the areas in which we continue to need the help of professionals.”
Prevost also addresses one of the, the recovery of the Mass in Latin, but warns that the issue has gone hand in hand: “I know that part of that problem, unfortunately, has made – new, part of a polarization process – that some use the liturgy as an excuse to promote other issues. It has become a political tool.” He believes that on this issue we can speak to reach a reasonable agreement.
The Pope also advances that in the shoulders (“some of the decisions that were made that they probably need some adjustment”), and reveals that Vaticnao’s finances are not as bad as it is believed, although “there is a pension fund that must be analyzed.”
Another section of the interview is dedicated to artificial intelligence, which worries the Pope a lot: “It will be very difficult to discover the presence of God in AI. In human relations, we can find at least signs of the presence of God.” For example, he cites mutual respect, the importance of family and the values of equality, and living and working together in peace. He also alarmed the false news and confesses not to have “a lot of tolerance” with whom he talks about alternative facts: “No, the facts are made.” He tells, as an anecdote, that after being chosen, someone asked if he was fine, because he had known that he had fallen down the stairs: “No, I did not fall, but there was a video somewhere where they had created this artificial Pope, to me, falling by a stretch of some stairs.” “Why are all these people consuming these fake news? Something is happening there. People want to believe in conspiracies, people want to look for all these false things, and that is very destructive,” he says.
Finally, he reveals that someone recently asked permission to create “an artificial version of me”, a website where personal audiences could be had with the Pope, which would answer their questions. “I said: ‘I will not authorize that.’ If there is someone who should not be represented by an avatar, it seems to me, it is the Pope,” he concludes.
