He had hardly finished addressing the crowd in front of Saint Peter's Basilica in Vatican City that Robert Provost, as the newly minted Pope Leo XIV, was transformed into a blank face on which interest groups and lobbies of all kind could draw the image they would like him to become.
Since we are now used to a new kind of journalism, let's call that the journalism of what might be, as opposed to what has actually happened. In it, projection, not to say fantasy, often replaces the reporting of facts.
So, we were immediately told that Leo XIV will continue the path traced by Pope Francis by supporting the Palestinian cause, showing an understanding of "alternative lifestyles", becoming a defender of the poor and illegal immigrants and an anti-Trump activist, in short a very woke pope.
One of Trump's most prominent Catholic allies, Steve Bannon, called Leo the "worst pick for MAGA Catholics," casting him as the "anti-Trump pope."
Woke spin-doctors, on the other hand, did all they could to de-Americanize Leo XIV. In France, they noted that his family name Provost is of French origin and that he must therefore be of French descent.
The French forgot that the word Provost is of Latin origin, so Leo XIV might be Italian as well.
Some commentators made a song and dance about Leo XIV having a Peruvian passport besides his American one. Again, they forgot that he also has a Vatican passport. And since Peru also happens to be in the same hemisphere as the US, Leo XIV's Peruvian passport makes him more rather than less American.
Trying to fit Leo XIV into woke fantasies, some Francis nostalgics solemnly declared that Leo would be humble, and his theology would focus on the poor and marginalized in a peculiar version of class struggle. But didn't Jesus himself side with the poor and marginalized, and was he not humble enough to wash the feet of his disciples?
A cartoon that shows the new pope as a one-shot Charlie of the Wild West in a gun duel with US President Donald Trump isn't even funny.
Leo XIV is also portrayed as a champion of illegal immigrants because, as a cardinal, he called on and prayed for illegals arriving at Lampedusa in Sicily. Again, those who said that forgot Jesus too urged his followers to welcome the stranger and at mealtimes always keep a place vacant for him.
But let us forget about what-might-be speculation and see what has actually happened. To start with, in his first appearance as the new pope, Leo XIV appeared on the balcony in full papal regalia, in contrast to his predecessor's white priestly gear. Leo XIV also used Latin in his introductory remarks, shifting to vernacular after he had asserted the authority of his church's official language.
Leo XIV advises against loudmouthism, a hallmark of the woke movement.
He follows Augustine in advising calm, pondered expressions by saying: "We do not need loud, forceful communication, but rather communication that is capable of listening and of gathering the voices of the weak that have no voice".
So far, the new pope has tried to press for peace as a core message of his church, declared his readiness to broaden interfaith dialogue with other faiths, including Islam and Judaism, and accepted the invitation to visit war-torn Ukraine. His first words as pontiff to the world were "peace be with you all" and he called for "a disarmed peace and a disarming peace."
An outside observer who is neither Christian nor woke would have no difficulty to see how the two cannot meet, and that trying to reduce the pope to the level of a celebrity campaigning for "good causes" like an Angelina Jolie or Leonardo DiCaprio, is a disservice to both the church and the real or imagined good cases.
Pope Leo XIII, who headed the Catholic Church from 1878-1903, is remembered for his support for workers' right to form trade unions and press for better working conditions and fairer wages through dialogue and social development rather than class struggle as preached by Marxists at the time.
The first Pope Leo, who headed the Catholic Church from 440-461, was canonized a saint because, according to lore or legend, he met Attila the Hun and persuaded the ruthless invader of Europe to spare Rome. Today, Leo XIV may be facing another Attila in the shape of the woke movement that tries to re-write history, redefine faith and remold the world by championing fake noble causes.
In the challenge that Leo XIV faces, he may need something more than the Saint Michael's Prayer that carried Leo I to sainthood.
Pope Francis had commissioned to provide a review of his church's current position and suggest reforms and initiatives needed to face the future.
The cardinals preparing the review are expected to report later this year, which gives the new pope a chance to define his papacy and the kind of church he hopes to lead, maybe for decades. For the time being, it is prudent to stick to old journalism of what actually happens rather than what we fancy should happen.
Amir Taheri was the executive editor-in-chief of the daily Kayhan in Iran from 1972 to 1979. He has worked at or written for innumerable publications, published eleven books, and has been a columnist for Asharq Al-Awsat since 1987.
Gatestone Institute would like to thank the author for his kind permission to reprint this article in slightly different form from Asharq Al-Awsat. He graciously serves as Chairman of Gatestone Europe.
