The Mozzetta and papal stole said it all—in an act of true humility, Pope Leo accepted the trappings of the papacy and embraced them, even if not to his personal taste. There is no virtue signaling about personal humility by forgoing papal dress, papal residence and papal automobiles. He submits to the office not the office to him. That’s a great relief to say the least.
Here are my rolaids:
1. He speaks with clarity and upholds orthodoxy on priestly celibacy, Humanae Vitae, marriage, male only Holy Orders and much more.
2. He tries to show himself in continuity with all previous popes, not only his immediate predecessor, but all of them, pre-Vatican II and Post Vatican II
3. He doesn’t employ name-calling to humiliate those he wants to change—no words of faggotry, pickled peppered nuns’ faces, rigidity, backwardists, mentally ill, grandmother’s lace wearing prelates and priests, the Bugnini Mass the only expression of the Latin Rite’s Mass, eating feces, and so on and so forth!
4. He hasn’t given canonical status to synodality and is meeting more regularly with the College of Cardinals and also the heads of bishops’ conferences
5. No grandstanding, more regal, introspective and papal.
20 comments:
Pope Leo is a gentleman, Francis was not. This will give someone here the Sadz but for the sane, welcome news:
An End to the Liturgy Wars and to the Persecution of Traditionalists
It is absolutely clear at this point that Pope Leo does not share the animosity that Francis — and also Parolin and Roche — have held toward traditionalists and the Tridentine Mass. Traditionis Custodes is dead. Bishops are no longer encouraged to suppress the TLM; rather, they are encouraged to be inclusive toward it. The persecution of traditionalist communities appears to be over, and the FSSP is clearly out of danger. The main questions now are what will replace Traditionis Custodes and how far openness toward traditionalists will go.
Pope Leo had liturgy as one of the four topics he wanted cardinals to discuss at the Extraordinary Consistory. A majority — specifically those from the developing world — tended not to care too much either way and shelved the topic. Hostility toward the TLM was clearly a minority position, however, and Pope Leo proceeded to unilaterally promote a friendlier stance rather than waiting for or pushing through any majority agreement. This was another example of his firm leadership. An earlier example was his direction to the nuncio in the UK to tell the bishops that the DDW would automatically grant dispensations from Traditionis Custodes — thereby forcing them to stop pressuring bishops into ending the Tridentine Mass.
That Pope Leo has appointed several new archbishops with a history of being friendly toward the TLM is a good sign. But in the end, the most important next step is who Pope Leo appoints to replace Cardinal Roche as prefect of the Dicastery for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. Almost as important is what he does with the current DDW secretary, Archbishop Viola. Will he have him work under a far more traditionalist-friendly prefect, or better yet, exile him from the Curia once his five-year term ends this May?
Thank God, we have a Holy, Holy, Holy Pope now.
You forgot seminarians as little monsters. Gee, I wonder why the number of seminarians worldwide dropped by over 10% from 2013-2025, after being on an upswing for the previous couple decades!
Nick
Not all are bad, but here are but a few of Pope Francis’ insults:
Old maid!””Fomenter of coprophagia!””Specialist of the Logos!””Rosary counter!””Functionary!””Self-absorbed, Promethean neo-Pelagian!””Restorationist!””Ideological Christians!””Pelagian!””Mr and Mrs Whiner!””Triumphalist!””Rigid Christians!””Modern gnostics!””Liquid Christian!” “Superficial Christians!””Slaves of superficiality!” “Museum mummy!””Renaissance prince!””Airport Bishop!” “Leprous courtier!””Idealogue!””Long-faced, mournful funeral Christian!””Gnostic!””Careerist Bishop!””Sourpuss!””Authoritarian!””Elitist!” “Querulous and disillusioned pessimist!” “Sad Christian!””Pickled pepper-faced Christian!””Children! Afraid to dance! To cry! Afraid of everything!””Asker for certainty in all things!””Christians allergic to preaching!””Closed, sad, trapped Christian who is not a free Christian!””Pagan Christian!””Little monster!” “Defeated Christian!””Creed-reciting, parrot Christian!””Watered-down faith, weak-hoped Christian!””Inquisitorial beater!””Seminarians who grit their teeth and wait to finish!””Those who follow rules and smile [who] reveal the hypocrisy of clericalism – one of the worst evils!” “Abstract ideologue!” “Fundamentalist!” “Smarmy, idolator priest!””Worshiper of the god Narcissus!””Priest-wheeler dealer!””Priest-tycoon!””Religious who have a heart as sour as vinegar!” “Promoter of the poison of immanence!” “Those closed in the formality of a prayer that is cold, stingy!””They might end up as Michal, in the sterility of her formality.””Older people nostalgic for structures and customs which are no longer life-giving in today’s world!””Young people addicted to fashion!” “Pastry-Shop Christians!” “Luscious cakes, sweet dainties!” “Delectable, but not real Christians!””Existential tourist!” “Anesthetised Christian!””Christian hypocrites only interested in their formalities!”“They disguise themselves, they disguise themselves as good people! “They make themselves up like little holy cards, looking up at heaven as they pray, making sure they are seen!” “They believe they are more righteous than others, they despise others!” ‘Mah,’ they say, “I’m very Catholic, because my uncle was a great benefactor, my family is this, I’m that… I’ve learned… I know this bishop, this Cardinal, this priest… I am this or that…’ “They think they are better than others! This is hypocrisy!” “Sloth-diseased, acedic Christians!”“Catholics, but without enthusiasm, even embittered!””People without light – real downers!””Selfish Christans, out for themselves!”“Christians who do not leave space for the grace of God!””Christians with all the paperwork, all the certificates, in order!””The theologian satisfied that his thought is complete and conclusive is mediocre!”“The theologian who does not pray and does not adore God ends up drowning in the most disgusting narcissism.”“This is an ecclesiastical sickness!”“The narcissism of theologians and thinkers does such harm; it’s disgusting!”“Your institutions are not machines for producing theologians and philosophers!” “Christian bats who prefer the shadows to the light!””Starched Christians!””Christians who are too polite! “Christians who speak of theology calmly over tea!” “Catholics who work for personal profit! “Catholics who presented themselves as benefactors of the Church and made money on the side!””Climbers! People driven by ambition!” “Vain, butterfly-priest!””If you like climbing go to the mountains and climb them: it is healthier! Do not come to Church to climb!””A simple numerary in this sect!””Weathervanes!””Rotting in the heart, weak!” “Weak to the point of rottenness!” “Gloomy in the heart!””Weak-hearted Christians!””So much sterility within our Mother Church!”
Part II:
“The weight of the hope in the Commandments!” that pelagianism that all of us carry within our bones, she becomes sterile!” “She believes she is capable of giving birth…she can’t!””The Church is more like an entrepreneur than a mother!””A discouraged, anxious, sad Church!” “Church who is more spinster than mother!” “This Church isn’t useful!” “such a Church is no more than a museum!””Christians in appearance! “Made-up Christians, because when the rain comes, the make-up runs off!”“So many ‘apparent Christians,’ collapse at the first temptation!””Christians of appearance!””Dead Christians!”“Band of the chosen” in that “ecclesiastical microclimate!””Christians who prefer a spectacle to the silence of the Kingdom of God!”“Vain, pageant Christians!””Christians without strength, without fertility”!”A Christian out for himself, to serve himself!” “Christian with a sad life!””Christians enemies of the Cross of Christ!””Pagans with two strokes of Christian paint, so as to appear like Christians, but pagans nonetheless!”“A pastor who opens the doors of the Church and stays there, waiting, is sad!””Dark Christians who lead a life of sin! “A life distant from the Lord who belong to the evil!” one!””Christians who are neither light nor dark!””Christians of grey areas on one side first and then the other!” “Is this person with God or the devil? Always in the grey area! They are lukewarm!” “They are neither light nor dark! And God does not love these!””Christians who live for appearances! For vanity!””Peacocks Christians! They strut about like peacocks!””Soap bubble Christian!”
Can you imagine Pius XII or any other pope up until Francis acting in this manner?
Deo gratias that God has raised Robert Prevost to serve as our Pope. Pope Leo XIV's obvious love for Father, Son, and Holy Ghost has marked him as a holy man of God.
Pope Leo XIV has stood with the holy and great Popes with which we have been blessed for a long, long time.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary, dear Saint Joseph, as well as each Angel and Saint, continue to pray for Pope Leo XIV.
May each holy priest, such as Father McDonald, as well as Father Kavanaugh, throughout the world stand always with His Holiness.
May each of us within the Church stand always with His Holiness.
May God grant holy Pope Leo XIV many happy and blessed years.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
No comments on Francis' potty mouth?
All that stuff is holy, holy, holy, to MT, if he actually means the treacle he always spews.
Nick
The tell of all tells was the slapping at the pilgrim in Vatican Square. However, I did find it slightly more amusing than scandalous.
So Cupich is a Cardinal while a successful Archbishop isn’t. The Francis “effect!”
https://catholicphilly.com/2026/05/news/local-news/archbishop-perez-to-ordain-largest-class-of-new-priests-in-23-years/
For those who might be interested in identification of sources and in context:
Except for the first and last sentences TJM’s first post appears to be taken verbatim from Rorate Caeli:
RORATE CÆLI: HOW CAN WE VIEW THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PONTIFICATE OF LEO XIV? [scroll down to the final section before the Conclusion]
Father McDonald’s litany of “insults” appears to be taken verbatim from something called “The Pope Francis Little Book of Insults,” which AI describes as “a satirical Little Book of Insults compiled by Catholic bloggers and commentators, listing some of the more pointed or colorful remarks attributed to him. These are not official papal statements, but rather anecdotes, paraphrases, or humorous takes on his style of speaking.” The specific listing in Father’s comment appears in the following link:
https://abyssum.org/2019/05/11/the-little-book-of-insults-used-by-francis-the-merciful/
So much for sources. Now for context. The “Little Book of Insults” might be cute, but it tells us nothing of the context in which Francis uttered these “insults” (or indeed which of them he did in fact utter and which are “humorous takes” as AI describes it). It would be rather like taking Jesus’ “insults” in the Gospels without quoting the surrounding passages. The following article lists 78 times Christ’s “insults” appear in the Gospels and 9 in Revelation, in each case with a reference to the passage providing the context:
https://www.christbible.net/escape-from-reason/when-jesus-insulted-people-a-comprehensive-list
Interesting, no? Unlike voices that utter gratuitous insults intended solely to put someone down or that are simply curmudgeonly, the “prophetic” voice may utter well-taken “insults” intended to challenge and rouse us from our spiritual complacency, self-satisfaction, tepidness, or stupor. And those “offended” in this way therefore tend to persecute, or even crucify, the perpetrator. Without knowing the context, it is impossible to determine which of Pope Francis’s “insults” fall into which category. Civility has its place, and God knows we need more of it in our political and religious conversation, but sometimes it is necessary to be appropriately uncivil.
Mark J.
National Catholic Reporter:
"In the last year, Pope Leo XIV has emerged as a towering moral figure offering a message of peace and solidarity that stands in sharp contrast to the language and priorities of many leading political figures, not least the president of the United States."
(His Holiness has demonstrated that the Gospel of Jesus Christ differs greatly from the Culture of Death, in which numerous prominent politicians traffic worldwide.)
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National Catholic Reporter:
"Signs gradually emerged showing Leo's pastoral sensibility to be very much in line with that of his predecessor:
"He called for conversion for those who ignore climate change, encouraged LGBTQ inclusion advocate Jesuit Fr. Jim Martin, and has spoken out against the "inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States."
(That is unmistakable in regard to the following: His Holiness...today in Naples.)
"We know, in fact, that there is no peace without justice, and that justice, to be authentic, can never be separated from charity.
"In this sense, Naples continues to reveal its deepest heart in welcoming migrants and refugees, viewing them not as an emergency but as an opportunity for encounter and mutual enrichment."
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Pope Leo XIV has emerged as a towering champion of migrants and refugees, the poor, weak, unborn, voiceless...people trampled by the world's crushing economic system(s).
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National Catholic Reporter:
"That balancing act was evident on Leo's return flight from Africa on April 23, when he was asked about priestly blessings for same-sex couples.
"Leo...added that he would rather focus on "more important issues" within the church, such as justice, equality and human freedom."
(Pope Leo XIV is indeed the world's leading proponent of such "more important issues" as justice, equality, freedom, and human migration.)
Pax.
Mark Thomas
This will give the leftwingers here the Sadz. Pope Leo's brother, who speaks to "Rob" at least once a week had this to say about the Pope and President Trump (don't list your wrists now or rend your garments):
"Do you think Donald Trump could have been a bit more restrained in his comments?
He is always very direct and straightforward — that is just who he is. But I do not believe there is any real animosity between President Trump and the Pope. I hope that someday, soon, the two of them can sit down together, talk, and get to know each other better. Knowing them both, I think they have more in common than most people think."
Hey K, here is another Democrat "paradise" you should consider, Seattle:
Most downtown Seattle businesses are GONE because of leftist rule.
Starbucks
Old Navy
The Loft
And many more GONE.
They left because of crime and homelessness & now most of downtown Seattle is VACANT.
This sounds ideal for you. Why hide in stable, sane Savannah when you can enjoy your Party's policies to the hilt?
Indeed peace has descended, and thank goodness it has. As well, Leo has exhibited a much needed sobriety in many ways, contrary to the spontaneous volatility of his predecessor.
At the same time, it's been a year. There are matters to definitively address many of which have festered for far too long. Are there hints/clues/indicators/signaling? Perhaps. To me, it is getting to a point where concrete conclusions are needed for the benefit of the souls he is serving and guiding. Has the hierarchy become too liberal to make decisions that by all accounts seem obvious, rooted in tradition and common sense? There is a compelling case confirming this. So what is Leo to do? Try and outlast them if he is so inclined? Move forward with an agenda many within the hierarchy embrace and perhaps he to some extent does as well? It would be nice to know where all/we stand, one year on.
Mark J., thank you for having made the important point of context...context...context...when one evaluates Pope Francis' (requiescat in pace) suppose nastiness.
I recall vividly that 12 years ago, Father McDonald had made that point.
https://southernorderspage.blogspot.com/2014/12/one-cannot-evaluate-pope-francis.html
ONE CANNOT EVALUATE POPE FRANCIS WITHOUT FIRST UNDERSTANDING HIS ITALIAN WAYS AND HIS ITALIAN SENSE OF HUMOR AND HOW HE USES THE ORDINARY ITALIAN LANGUAGE IN THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAY POSSIBLE WITH ITALIANS!
Pope Francis' detractors have long promoted the narrative that he was a flat-out, nasty, rotten, insult artist.
However, Father McDonald, who understands Italian, had offered the following:
Father's 2014 A.D. above post featured a video in which Pope Francis had uttered that which the uninitiated would have interpreted as a dig.
However, Father McDonald noted:
"One has to hear the pope say this in Italian.
"It is hilarious and I can hear my own mother or some of my Italian relatives saying this and everyone laughing at it. In fact it brought tears to my eyes as I laughed so hard. It's an Italian thing!
"But if a reporter wrote down what the Pope said and one didn't have the opportunity to listen to it and understand it, one would miss the humor of this pope altogether.
"One cannot interpret this pope without understanding his Italian, peasant background and the ordinary way he speaks Italian which endears him to Italians."
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In addition, when a remark by Pope Francis may have been more serious, the supposed "insult" in question had been employed to convey truth.
Mark J. made that point in outstanding fashion. Mark J. noted:
"It would be rather like taking Jesus’ “insults” in the Gospels without quoting the surrounding passages."
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Context. Context. Context. Something that Pope Francis' detractors are not keen to explore.
Pax.
Mark Thomas
This should give TJM and other Trump apologists the Sadz too, but it won’t of course. This Tangle newsletter by Isaac Saul demonstrates that Donald Trump is probably the most corrupt president in American history—by far—and yet very few seem to care about his self-dealing and exploitation of the presidency to enrich himself, his family, and his billionaire buddies:
https://www.readtangle.com/the-everything-everywhere-all-at-once-corruption-story/?ref=tangle-newsletter
“After reviewing the evidence of the first 15 months of President Trump’s second term, I believe the president is profiting off the office and making foreign policy decisions based on business interests to a level we’ve never seen or even conceived of before, and apparently nothing is being done to stop it.
I can’t level that claim directly and unambiguously because we haven’t really had the basic facts adjudicated, since Republicans in Congress have opted for complete and utter fealty to Trump in every manner imaginable. There is no oversight, or accountability, or even the slightest inclination to ask about these actions in the majority party. The Trump administration has also dismantled many of the federal watchdogs responsible for prosecuting fraud, grift and corruption, so few of its actions have been probed in any meaningful way. . . ."
After detailing the evidence supporting the claim, Saul concludes that:
“Together, this story paints a picture that I find impossible to deny: Trump is swimming in self-dealing, corruption, and quid pro quos. His defenders will note that other presidents have profited from the office before; this is true. They may further posit that rules like the Emoluments Clause are rarely enforced; this is also true.
But they can’t or shouldn’t deny that we’ve never seen anything like this. We’ve never seen the scale, the brazenness, or the volume of the self-enrichment, corruption, and betrayal of ethics. Trump is using the presidency to make himself exorbitantly rich, even when the strategies to do so cost his supporters hundreds of millions of dollars, eliminate restitution for victims of fraud, or could impact critical foreign policy decisions like whether or not to continue a new war (that is costing taxpayers billions). Rather than drain the swamp, as he promised, the president is pardoning and freeing the swampiest denizens of Washington, D.C. (and the country), and signaling to the rest of them that they can insider trade, take money from donors, and enjoy all manner of bribes and self-dealing so long as they keep supporting and paying the man in the White House.
He appears to be running the most corrupt administration in American history.”
And here is Saul’s detailed response to critics of this issue of the newsletter:
https://www.readtangle.com/responses-to-my-trump-corruption-piece-reader-feedback/?ref=tangle-newsletter
Now which Circle of Hell in Dante’s Inferno is reserved for those who practice such fraud and corruption? Clue: It is almost at the bottom.
And they (rightly) made such a fuss about Hunter Biden. But about Trump, hardly a murmur. Good grief!
Mark J.
Context, context, context requires noting another decade of (coprophagic) insult-spewing followed this post. Including not one but two jabs at seminary “faggotry”! Sorry, MT, your gag of ignoring everything that could question your untenable, unreal, and heterodox narratives is threadbare to the point of being more transparent than the grandmother’s lace worn by those supposedly psychologically-addled, “cross-dressing” young priests.
Nick
Nick:
You are correct that context also requires consideration of additional alleged “insults” from Pope Francis. But shouldn’t each one of those be placed in their proper context as well? I know it is fashionable nowadays (and indeed has been for some time) to take what people say out of context to play “gotcha” or otherwise score a cheap political point, or as Mark T expresses the matter in the case of Francis, to “promote[] the narrative that he was a flat-out, nasty, rotten, insult artist.” But isn’t it highly misleading and unfair to do so? Don’t you agree that a more accurate understanding and portrayal of Francis requires that his words be understood in their proper context? And that only then are we able to evaluate their true character? Surely, you cannot be suggesting otherwise?
Mark J.
Mark, in principle, I agree with you. Where we might part company in these instances: the need to contextually understand the potentially crass, or ad-libbed from a prelate of his stature. That said, I am as much of a sinner as any other, so I've tried to let the man rest in peace as judgement isn't mine to administer.
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