Pope Leo XIV: Pontiff’s views on big issues including LGBTQ+, Gaza and women

A new chapter of the 1.3 billion-strong Catholic Church has begun with the election of US-born Pope Leo XIV, but where does he stand on the big issues?

As a priest, Chicago-born Robert Prevost, 69, spent two decades as a missionary in Peru where he became a dual citizen, before being elevated to one of the powerful positions in the Vatican.

A member of the Augustinian religious order, Leo has given few media interviews and rarely speaks in public.

But a look at what Pope Leo has had to say previously gives a hint on where he may stand on important topics such as the LGBTQ community, migrants and the Gaza conflict during his papacy.

LGBTQ+

Pope Leo’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues may diverge from the late Pope Francis’, however, it remains unclear.

The former pontiff’s progressive approach to the LGBTQ+ Catholic community made strides with outreach, stating in 2013: “Who am I to judge . . . if someone is gay and is searching for the Lord and has good will.”

But Pope Leo’s election could mark a departure from that view.

In a 2012 address to bishops, then Cardinal Prevost said Western media and popular culture promoted “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the Gospel”.

“Note, for example, how alternative families comprised of homosexual partners and their adopted children are so benignly and sympathetically portrayed on television programs and in cinema,” he said at the time, according to the Arlington Catholic Herald.

Migrants

Pope Leo XIV has been very vocal in the past on his stance on migrants, which aligns with that of his predecessor, the late Pope Francis.

A quick scroll through the new pontiff’s social media history demonstrates that he takes issue with US President Donald Trump’s tough line on migration.

The pontiff has spoken out against Mr Trump and JD Vance numerous times online.

“I stand with the Dreamers and all people who are working towards an immigration system that is fair, just and moral,” he said in one post in 2017.

In another the then-Cardinal Prevost shared an article describing the Trump administration’s ban on some refugees “a dark hour of US history”.

“The world is watching as we abandon our commitment to American values,” the post stated.

A third, retweeted in 2018 in response to Trump’s policy of separating migrant children from their parents, read: “There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.”

Climate change

According to Vatican News, Pope Leo — back when he was Cardinal Prevost — once declared that it was time to move “from words to action” while addressing the deteriorating environmental crisis facing the world.

In the same article, he said: “Dominion over nature — the task which God gave humanity — should not become ‘tyrannical’. It must be a ‘relationship of reciprocity’ with the environment.”

“The Cardinal cautioned against the “harmful” consequences of technological development and reiterated the Holy See’s commitment to protecting the environment, enumerating examples, like the Vatican installing solar panels and shifting to electric vehicles”,the article read.

Women’s rights

Like his predecessor, Pope Leo has historically been firmly against the ordainment of women.

“Something that needs to be said also is that ordaining women — and there’s been some women that have said this interestingly enough — ‘clericalizing women doesn’t necessarily solve a problem, it might make a new problem,” he said in 2023.

While he has expressed limits about women’s governance in the Catholic Church, he has also acknowledged “women can add a great deal to the life of the church on many different levels”.

War on Gaza

Pope Leo’s stance on the Gaza war is still up for debate, with a lack of public statements on the conflict.

It remains unclear whether he will emulate his predecessor, who was a staunch advocate for Palestinians and kept in regular contact with Catholics in Gaza.