Truth Unites - Protestant Appreciation of Pope Leo XIV

Episode Date: May 9, 2025

Gavin Ortlund shares three points of appreciation for Pope Leo XIV.Truth Unites (https://truthunites.org) exists to promote gospel assurance through theological depth. Gavin Ortlund (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is President of Truth Unites, Visiting Professor of Historical Theology at Phoenix Seminary, and Theologian-in-Residence at Immanuel Nashville.SUPPORT:Tax Deductible Support: https://truthunites.org/donate/Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/truthunitesFOLLOW:Website: https://truthunites.org/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/truth.unites/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gavinortlundFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/TruthUnitesPage/

Yesterday from the time of my recording this, Robert Prevost was elected as the Pope. Pope, and he chose the name Pope Leo the 14th. This is number 267th, 267th Pope, according to the official list at any rate. And he's the first American Pope, which is interesting. So everybody's been talking about this. I didn't have anything to say, honestly. I didn't know anything about the guy. So people ask me my opinion, and I'm like, I'm always just happy to say, I don't have to comment on everything.

But I'm just fascinated by it, so I've been learning a lot about him. and I wanted to share three reflections in a lighthearted way and all in a spirit of appreciation for various positions of his. Those of you who watch my channel know that I spend a lot of time defending Protestant beliefs, and I'm very happy to do that. I believe in that. But I also value having positive relationships across differences and appreciating where we do have common ground. And so when there's a significant turning point in the life of another church,

it's appropriate to hit the pause button on the polemics for a minute and just be a human being, don't be a jerk, be tactful, be kind. And, you know, so, for example, when a pope dies, we can express our condolences. When a new pope is elected, we can pray that God would direct that person unto righteousness and unto truth and unto wisdom. Hopefully that, I regret that that needs to be said, but it does, because a lot of people seize upon the moment and they're just very unkind. But the reality is, all of us benefit from having a good pope rather than a bad pope,

because even if you're not Catholic, you know, we should all want a good Pope because the Pope is a major global figure. He's the spiritual leader of almost a billion and a half people. That's 18% of the world's population, one out of five people almost in the entire world. So we all want to have a pope who is a good person. And thankfully, Pope Leo the 14th for my initial impressions, I didn't know anything about him 36 hours ago, but I've been learning. So this is all just a provisional first impression from researching over the last 24 hours. But I'm encouraged. There's a lot to admire about this man, especially just in terms of what he has to offer to the world right now in its current state. Let me just reflect three things I appreciate. Number one is his social positions

reflect Christ and Christian values, in my opinion. So, for example, he's pro-life. This is encouraging. You can see this in his ministry in Peru. A lot of his adult life has been spent in Peru. But also more recently, in 2015, I'll put up a picture here from a tweet of his at the March for Life in Chicago where he's saying, let's defend human life at all times. And in 2019, homily, he says, we cannot build a just society if we discard the weakest, whether the child in the womb or the elderly in their frailty, for they are both gifts from God. In 2023, he said, the church must walk with all people, especially the most vulnerable, ensuring their dignity is upheld from the womb to the end of life, as this is the heart of Christ's mission.

This is what I appreciate here is not only the pro-life advocacy, but the sensitivity to all of life. Sometimes people get honed in just on that one issue, and we forget the value of all human life. He also holds to traditional views regarding gender and sexuality. You can see that throughout his ministry in Peru back in 2015 or 2016, somewhere around there. He says the promotion of gender ideology is confusing because it seeks to create genders that don't exist. So this is not someone who is radically progressive. On the other hand, he is also willing to criticize some of the extremes and eccentricities of the far right

and some of the things that are happening, especially in the United States under Donald Trump. He speaks out on behalf of immigrants, for example. in the way you saw him unpacking his thoughts about protecting the unborn. You get a little bit of this flavor. He speaks out against the sin of racism. He's outspoken about the need to address climate change, which I think is encouraging. If you know anything about me, you've probably heard about, you know, I care about that issue. It's only in the United, I keep saying this, I keep saying it over the years, hopefully we'll make progress. It is only in the United States and a few other places that that issue is perceived is coded so much as though it were this liberal issue.

It is not liberal to care about climate change. That's just a basic issue that's completely legitimate to care about. Not to get into that here. The point is for now just to state my appreciation for his social views. He's neither radically progressive nor radically traditionalist or, you know, you could even just say, I actually don't even like framing it like that because I would regard it as just basically he's willing to oppose where conservative values are being undermined and what goes under the name of conservatism today. All to say, I just think there's, what I see in those positions and those statements I just read is a historic Christian impulse. A second thing that I like about Pope Leo the 14th is he has academic chops. I always think

it's interesting when you get a theologian as the Pope. Not to say you have to have that, by the way. I think someone can be a great spiritual leader, even if they recognize they're not really called to an academic expression of theology. But it's fascinating, when a pope is, like more recently Pope Benedict. But in addition to getting a master's degree at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, he got an M-Div. He then went on to Rome for advanced studies in canon law, and that included a doctorate. And you can read, I was reading all about his academic writings. A lot of them are about the Order of St. Augustine, of which he is a member. So that is, that flavors a little bit of just who he is and how he functions.

And it's interesting. And it plays into the third thing that I want to highlight, which actually kind of comes out of these first two already somewhat implicitly. And that is Pope Leo the 14th strikes me as something of a centrist or moderate. I mean, first of all, he is described in those categories in terms of his positions. But even in terms of his temperament, he seems to be something. someone who is, and I mean these things as positives, cautious, a good listener, potentially soft-spoken in his interactions with others. And, you know, different times call for different styles of

leadership. I happen to feel that in the radicalization and instability of the world right now, this is tremendously good. Centrist influences are actually helpful in the times in which we live. And to that end, let me just sort of sign off the very brief video, just throwing out of a few categories under the table for people to think about. But I want to sign off by reading something that Pope Leo the 14th said about social media. Is he the first Pope who's really used social media? I'm not sure, but I think so. But I haven't really looked into that to verify that. I mean, himself personally throughout his life. But he, in two years ago, 2003, he was interviewed and he talked about social media. And he said something that resonates with me because as someone, I think about

social media every day, both the pros and the cons, because it's a part of my life now and I see opportunities, but man, there are dangers. And it is really risky. What he says here, I think, is something we can all think about. He says, social media can be an important tool to communicate the gospel message reaching millions of people. We must prepare ourselves to use social media well. I'm afraid that sometimes this preparation has been lacking. At the same time, the world today, which is constantly changing, presents situations where we really have to think several times before speaking or before writing a message on Twitter in order to answer or even just ask questions in a public forum in full view of everyone.

Sometimes there is a risk of fueling divisions and controversy. There is a great responsibility to use social networks communication correctly because it is an opportunity, but it is also a risk and it can do damage to the communion of the church. That is why one must be very prudent in the use of these means. Amen to that. So something for us all to keep thinking about as we're engaging on social media. Prayers for Pope Leo. God bless you all.

Thanks for watching.