“Woke” Pope Leo XIV slammed by MAGA supporters – story-veterans.com

As per The Guardian, Rev Fidel Purisaca Vigil, the communications director for Prevost’s old diocese in Chiclayo, Pope Leo XIV was a calm and grounded leader. He always sat down with fellow priests after morning prayer to eat breakfast.

“No matter how many problems he has, he maintains good humour and joy,” Rev Fidel Purisaca Vigil told the Associated Press.

Another person who spoke about Leo is his former roommate, Reverend John Lyndon. He lived with the Pope for a decade in Peru and told the BBC that he was an “outstanding” and “down-to-earth” person who loved singing and cooking.

“Sometimes he would make pizza, back in those days you couldn’t get good pizza in Peru,” Rev Lyndon told the BBC. “He was somebody you would sit down with and just talk and laugh,” he adds. “He had a very good singing voice as well.”

He continued, “We always had to block out a week for his birthday, which is in December, because every part of the parish wanted to celebrate his birthday,” he concluded, “It’s an amazing thing. I’m still absorbing it.”

Leo XIV has long supported the previous Pope, Pope Francis. He supported him in blessing same-sex couples and other people in “irregular situations.” However, he also believed that bishops had to interpret it in directives by local cultures.

Pope Leo “didn’t” think he’d win election, brother reveals
Like his predecessor, Leo has spoken out about the threat of climate change, and said last year that it’s time to move from “words to action.” He also said that humanity has to build a “relationship of reciprocity” with the environment. Moreover, he has supported the installation of solar panels and the adoption of electric vehicles.

Pope Francis was also a supporter of women joining the Dicastery for Bishops. In 2023, he told Vatican News that he had, on several occasions, seen women’s “point of view as an enrichment.”

Before becoming Pope, Leo’s most high-profile role inside the Vatican was President of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America and as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, overseeing the selection of new bishops worldwide.

Exactly how many votes Leo received inside the conclave is not known. He was not among the favorites beforehand. Speaking to NBC Chicago, John Prevost revealed that he asked his brother if he had watched the movie Conclave before the start of the real papal conclave, so he’d “know how to behave” if he were elected.

“So he knew how to behave. So it’s that kind of stuff, because I wanted to take his mind off of it, laugh about something, because this is now an awesome responsibility,” Prevost told NBC, adding that Pope Leo was doubtful about ‘winning’ the election..

“He didn’t think so. I kind of did, because what I was reading and what I was hearing that there were three outstanding candidates that were in first, second and third place. The Cardinal from the Philippines, the Secretary of State and him,” Prevost said, concluding that he “didn’t believe” that his brother actually won.