By Angus Harley

There are lots of so-called Evangelicals who are anxiously waiting to see what impact Pope Leo will have on international affairs. Just ask Christianity Today and TGC,[1] two media outlets that are fit only for the dung heap. Leo is a Francis fanboy, a devotee, and, some would say, the primo Franciscan disciple. He has Woke internationalism tattooed onto his forehead. Leo was chosen for his American background, among others things, to curb the rise of politically-conservative Catholicism in the US. His agenda is to spread an international Woke-Catholicism among the nations via dialogue. He follows Francis’ lead of promoting synodal rule, which is, essentially, the decentralization of power of Rome that promotes regional Catholicism. One effect of this is, of course, to create regional powerbases, which he hopes will work to support his international cause.[2] Although, there is every chance that these regional powers will bite him back, as is certainly possible with American Catholicism.[3]

Sadly, many an Evangelical fawns over the pope. And as poor theologians, they do not do their theological homework correctly. Take Carter’s piece. His point #7 is that Leo is more conservative than Francis theologically. If he is, it is so small that it will need a microscope to find it! We are told that Leo opposes gender ideology and a homosexual lifestyle, unlike Francis who seemed to be progressive on those issues (point  #8). Actually, Francis was the architect of Leo’s theology of the LGBT community. Francis had no time for splitting the genders, nor did he endorse a homosexual lifestyle. But, he was very openly and publicly for welcoming gay people into the actual Roman Church as members, as long as they didn’t practice gay sex. One could also be a Catholic and ‘suffer from’ gender dysphoria; one must not practice living as the opposite sex, however. Fox News, of all places, gets it right:

“Do Leo’s comments differ from Pope Francis?

Dig deeper:

Pope Francis strongly reaffirmed core Catholic teaching opposing abortion and euthanasia, saying they were evidence of today’s “throwaway culture.” But he also made reaching out to LGBTQ+ Catholics a hallmark, insisting they are welcome in the church. He never changed church doctrine defining marriage as a union between man and woman and homosexual acts as “intrinsically disordered.”

As the then-head of the Augustinian order, Leo in 2012 criticized the “homosexual lifestyle” and the role of mass media in promoting acceptance of same-sex relationships that conflicted with Catholic doctrine. A decade later, during Francis’ pontificate, he acknowledged Francis’ call for a more inclusive church, and said he didn’t want people excluded just on the basis of their lifestyle.”[4]

What gets but a passing reference from Carter is Leo’s devotion to Mary. Obviously, Carter and other ‘Evangelicals’ don’t care about idolatry and the worship of Mary. In his first ever speech as pope, Leo spewed out the familiar Franciscan babble about international dialogue and peace, and synodal Catholicism, only to close his speech with exalting Mary:

“Today is the day of the Prayer of Supplication to Our Lady of Pompeii.  Our Mother Mary always wants to walk at our side, to remain close to us, to help us with her intercession and her love.  So I would like to pray together with you.  Let us pray together for this new mission, for the whole Church, for peace in the world, and let us ask Mary, our Mother, for this special grace.”[5]

Open flagrant idolatry is nothing to be associated with before Almighty God. Where is your heart? Run to Christ and burn the idol called Mary!

[1] Emily Belz and Franco Iacomini, “How Evangelicals View the First US Pope,” Christianity Today, May 9, 2025, https://www.christianitytoday.com/2025/05/pope-leo-xiv-robert-prevost-evangelicals-americas-peru/; Joe Carter, “9 Things You Should Know about Leo XIV”, TGC, May 8, 2025, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/should-know-pope-leo-xiv/.

[2] Angus Harley, “Rome’s Giant Woke Tent”, All Things New Covenant, June 21, 2023, https://allthingsnewcovenant.com/2023/06/21/romes-giant-woke-tent/.

[3] Angus Harley, “Christianity and Culture: a response to Rome”,
All Things New Covenant, November 24, 2024, https://allthingsnewcovenant.com/2023/11/24/christianity-and-culture-a-response-to-rome/.

[4] Heather Miller, “New pope shares thoughts on gay marriage, abortion”, Live Now Fox, May 16, 2025, https://www.livenowfox.com/news/pope-leo-marriage-abortion.

[5] N.A., “Pope Leo XIV: ‘Peace be with all of you’”, Vatican News, accessed May 19, 2025, https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2025-05/pope-leo-xvi-peace-be-with-you-first-words.html.