Here are Pope Leo XIV's views on major issues—from LGBTQ+ rights to women as priests, and more

As Pope Leo begins his papacy, here's what you need to know about his stance on major issues.

Social justice  

According to his longtime friend Rev. Mark Francis, Pope Leo firmly supported his predecessor’s papacy, especially his views on social justice. 

"He was always friendly and warm and remained a voice of common sense and practical concerns for the Church's outreach to the poor," he told the outlet. One prime example was his support for Venezuelan migrants in Peru. More than 1.5 million Venezuelans have moved to Peru in recent years, partly to escape the country's economic crisis. 

In his X account in 2015, the new pope shared an article by Cardinal Timothy Dolan criticizing then-presidential candidate Donald Trump for his “problematic” anti-immigration proposals. Three years later, he also reposted a post by Cardinal Blase Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, about Trump’s family separation policy for immigrants during his first term.  

In February this year, he shared two news articles on X that denounced US Vice President JD Vance: The first was titled, JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others, which refuted Vance's statements on Fox News about the Christian concept. The other one was titled Pope Francis’ letter, JD Vance’s ‘ordo amoris’, and what the Gospel asks of all of us on immigration, which talked about Pope Francis’ letter criticizing Vance for using the Catholic concept of "ordo amoris" for the Trump administration's immigration policies.

On LGBTQ+ rights 

Pope Leo’s views on homosexuality, however, are not as welcoming compared to those of Francis, who famously said, “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” during his interview in July 2013. 

The New York Times reported in 2012 how then-cardinal Prevost expressed his dismay about how the Western news media and popular culture foster “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel.”  

He cited at the time the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children.” 

When he was the Chiclayo bishop, he opposed a government plan to add teachings on gender in schools. 

“The promotion of gender ideology is confusing, because it seeks to create genders that don’t exist,” he told local news media. 

Sexual abuse cases in the Church

Pope Leo faced backlash in line with how he allegedly mishandled sexual abuse cases during his tenure at the Diocese of Chiclayo. The diocese denied that he covered them up at the time.

He was one of the six cardinals accused by the non-profit support group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priest of “enabling” or “concealing” sexual abuse committed by Catholic clergy. 

In his interview in 2023, however, he acknowledged that there is “still so much to learn” and that addressing the issue must be focused on supporting victims.    

“There are places where good work has already been done for years, and the rules are being put into practice. At the same time, I believe that there is still much to learn,” he told Vatican News.  

“I am talking about the urgency and responsibility of accompanying victims,” he added. “The responsibility of the bishop is great, and I think we still have to make great efforts to respond to this situation that is causing so much pain in the Church. It will take time. We are trying to work together with the other dicasteries.” 

Pope Leo noted that there is also a need to accompany bishops who “have not received the necessary preparation to deal with this issue.”

“It is urgent and necessary that we be more responsible and more sensitive to this,” he said. 

Women as priests 

Pope Leo has strong views against women in the church. In his statement during a press conference in 2023, he said, “the apostolic tradition is something that has been spelled out very clearly, especially if you want to talk about the question of women’s ordination to the priesthood.” 

“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 added. 

During Pope Francis’ papacy, he made strides in appointing women to top Vatican posts, but the priestly ordination was exclusive to men, reaffirming Pope John Paul II's ban in 1994.  

Climate change 

When it comes to climate change, Pope Leo said that the approach must not be “tyrannical.” 

“’Dominion over nature’—the task which God gave humanity—should not become ‘tyrannical.’ It must be a ‘relationship of reciprocity’ with the environment,” he said during a seminar, adding that it must be addressed based on the Social Doctrine of the Church, per a Vatican News report.

He also stressed the “harmful” consequences of technological development, and echoed the Holy See’s role in mitigating such problems, such as installing solar panels and shifting to electric vehicles. 

Catholic Church 

In his 2023 interview with the Vatican's news outlet, Pope Leo underscored the importance of evangelization to help the Church grow. 

"We are often preoccupied with teaching doctrine, but we risk forgetting that our first task is to teach what it means to know Jesus Christ," he said. 

"Our work is to enlarge the tent and to let everyone know they are welcome inside the Church,” he also said in a press conference in 2023. 

Much is yet to be known whether Pope Leo will be open to shifting some of these views, just like how his predecessor was known to have significant progress in dealing with conservative topics in the Catholic Church, including same-sex relationships.

Jesus Leon Angeles, a coordinator for a Catholic group in Chiclayo who has known Prevost since 2018, described him as a person with leadership skills. "But at the same time, he knows how to listen. He has that virtue," she said. 

"The cardinal has the courtesy to ask for an opinion, even if it's from the simplest or most humble person," she continued. "He knows how to listen to everyone.” 

Get to know Pope Leo XIV more by following this link.