{"id":6708,"date":"2026-05-07T22:22:21","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T22:22:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/?p=6708"},"modified":"2026-05-07T22:22:23","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T22:22:23","slug":"gods-diplomat-pope-leo-xiv-speaks-gospel-to-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.maryknollsociety.org\/magazine\/gods-diplomat-pope-leo-xiv-speaks-gospel-to-power\/","title":{"rendered":"God\u2019s Diplomat:\u00a0Pope\u00a0Leo\u00a0XIV Speaks Gospel to Power"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Ines San Martin, OSV News<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

(OSV News) \u2014 Roughly two months before celebrating a year on the throne of Peter, Pope Leo XIV became one of the most quoted global leaders on the planet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Papal diplomacy all the sudden became trendy. Be it the media spin obsessed with President Donald Trump<\/a> or the Western angles of world newsrooms, for those that know him well, speaking God to power is nothing new in Pope Leo XIV\u2019s pastoral strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he was a young Father Robert Prevost in Peru and then bishop in Chiclayo, he did the same \u2014 even if the scale was smaller than the global stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pope is a man of deep prayer and contemplation of reality, a lover of the Gospel,\u201d said Armando Jes\u00fas Lovera V\u00e1squez, who lived with Father Prevost at an Augustinian formation house in Peru<\/a> for seven years. \u201cFrom this perspective, I was not surprised that he called on us to seek peace and to denounce everything that threatens it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Peruvian, who wrote the book From Robert to Pope Leo<\/em>, the pontiff is a person \u201cwhom God has been shaping through his ministry, and I believe he is the pope for these times, by the grace of God. He is a son of St. Augustine, who allows himself to be moved by the Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lovera knew then-Father Prevost, who was first in Peru as a missionary during the convoluted 1990s. The young priest, his friend recalls, was not afraid in the face of the country\u2019s severe challenges of the times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the late 1980s and early 1990s, Peru was facing internal war against insurgent groups. The military became extremely influential as civilian governments struggled to control the violence. Human rights abuses followed declaring emergency zones and as armed forces were given expanded powers, especially in rural areas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Missionary priest in a country torn by violence<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The biggest driver of instability was the Maoist guerrilla group Shining Path that launched a violent insurgency starting in 1980, aiming to overthrow the state. Their tactics included bombings, assassinations and attacks on infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No part of the country was untouched by the conflict, but the worst violence was concentrated in the Andean highlands, particularly in the Ayacucho region, where guerilla and government<\/a> forces vied to control the native populace through terror.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1990, Alberto Fujimori was elected president as a political outsider, promising to resolve Peru\u2019s deep economic crisis and escalating violence. On April 5, 1992, he carried out a self-coup, dissolving Congress, suspending the constitution and taking control of the judiciary with the backing of the military. Fujimori justified these extraordinary measures as necessary to defeat terrorism and stabilize the economy, ultimately leveraging this climate of crisis to legitimize a shift toward authoritarian rule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After more brief periods of missionary work in Peru, then-Father Prevost<\/a> began serving the Archdiocese of Trujillo for nine years as its judicial vicar in 1989; at the time he was also a professor of canon, patristic and moral law in the San Carlos e San Marcelo Major Seminary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c(Father Prevost) advocated for democracy and the defense of human rights, and later, as a bishop, when he returned to Chiclayo, he had to mediate between the peasants and the mining companies,\u201d Lovera said. \u201cHe has a well-established track record of defending human rights and justice, and hence it\u2019s not surprising to hear his invocation, which is nothing other than an emphasis on the Gospel\u2019s proclamation: \u201cBlessed are the peacemakers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A prudent leader compelled to speak out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Speaking aboard the papal plane en route from Rome to Algiers, the pope said that he had seen Trump\u2019s recent social media post lashing out at him the night before the papal trip<\/a>. As tensions escalated in the Middle East and after more than a month of appeals for peace from Pope Leo, Trump lashed out at the pope April 12, calling him \u201cweak on crime\u201d and \u201cterrible for foreign policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI have no fear neither of the Trump administration nor speaking out loudly of the message of the Gospel, which is what I believe I am here to do, what the Church is here to do,\u201d the pope said during the flight in a video recorded by OSV News.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking before the late night presidential post on Truth Social, Janina Sesa, who worked closely with then-Bishop Prevost as the head of Caritas in the Diocese of Chiclayo, echoed Lovera: \u201cHe always defends justice and peace<\/a>. He does not stay silent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Chiclayo, a coastal diocese shaped by poverty, migration and periodic natural disasters, Bishop Prevost\u2019s leadership was tested not in theory but in crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the COVID-19 pandemic, as oxygen shortages turned deadly, he stepped beyond the traditional boundaries of ecclesial leadership to mobilize the wider community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Then-Bishop
Then-Bishop Robert Prevost of Chiclayo, Peru, wades through floodwaters following heavy rains that struck northwestern Peru during March 2023 in this screenshot from a video by C\u00e1ritas Chiclayo. (NCR screengrab\/C\u00e1ritas Chiclayo\/Peru)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe could have stayed in what belonged to the Church \u2014 spiritual support,\u201d Sesa said. \u201cBut he acted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who witnessed it, the episode revealed a pattern that has carried into his pontificate: a leader who listens first, but who does not hesitate to act \u2014 or to speak \u2014 when human dignity<\/a> is at stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then-Bishop Prevost known for defending human dignity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

That same instinct was visible beyond the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father Jorge Mill\u00e1n Cotrina, rector of Chiclayo\u2019s cathedral, recalled how Bishop Prevost addressed local authorities during emergencies such as the flooding caused by El Ni\u00f1o, always with a focus not on politics but on people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn his mind are Christ and the human person,\u201d the priest said. \u201cThat is what he defends.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Father Mill\u00e1n, that framework explains the pope\u2019s current interventions on global conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is not speaking as a politician,\u201d he said. \u201cHe is speaking from the Gospel<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lovera, who spoke with OSV News twice \u2014 before and after the latest exchange between the successor of Peter and the president, defined Leo as someone who is respectful, \u201cbut courageous,\u201d insisting that in Peru the pontiff \u201clived many situations where he had to take a stand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, those close to him emphasize that his willingness to speak does not come from impulsiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is not someone who reacts quickly,\u201d Lovera added. \u201cHe listens, reflects, and then acts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That process, echoed by priests who worked with him in Chiclayo, helps explain the tone that has marked his early pontificate: measured, but firm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That distinction \u2014 between reaction and conviction \u2014 is key to understanding the pope\u2019s recent exchange<\/a> with Trump, those who know him say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe does not speak to confront,\u201d Sesa said. \u201cHe speaks when something touches the dignity of people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is guided by the Gospel,\u201d says C\u00e1ritas leader<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The pope himself has insisted as much, telling reporters that his calls for peace \u201care not meant as attacks on anyone,\u201d but rather as part of the Church\u2019s mission in a world marked by suffering and conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Father Mill\u00e1n, that clarity is not new \u2014 only more visible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow the whole world sees it,\u201d he said days before the U.S. president openly attacked Pope Leo<\/a>, but the pontiff had already warned against \u201cthe idolatry of self and money! Enough of the display of power! Enough of war!\u201d during the April 11 prayer vigil at the Vatican.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Father Mill\u00e1n pointed to a consistent pattern: When Bishop Prevost assumed responsibility, he did so fully, without dividing his attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen he was bishop of Chiclayo, he was completely for Chiclayo,\u201d the priest said. \u201cNow he is completely for the Church<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That total commitment, he suggested, requires a certain freedom \u2014 including the freedom to speak when necessary, regardless of the audience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those who knew him before Rome, the current moment is less a departure than an unveiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The man who once drove dusty roads to reach remote communities, who quietly enrolled in language classes to better serve Indigenous faithful and who rallied a city to confront a pandemic is now addressing a global audience \u2014 with the same priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is guided by the Gospel,\u201d Sesa said. \u201cThat has not changed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if that means entering uncomfortable territory, those who know him best say, he will not hesitate<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe is not afraid,\u201d Lovera said. \u201cBut he is not looking for conflict either.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, they say, Pope Leo XIV is doing what he has always done \u2014 only now on a larger stage: listening, discerning and, when necessary, speaking with clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe believes someone has to say there is a better way,\u201d Sesa said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Featured image: Pope Leo XIV waves as he arrives to celebrate the final Mass of his apostolic journey to Africa at Malabo Stadium in Equatorial Guinea April 23, 2026. (OSV News photo\/Simone Risoluti, Vatican Media)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

During the first year of his pontificate, the Holy Father has shown a measured firmness honed over decades of leadership in mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":6709,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_eb_attr":"","_eb_data_table":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[2767,773,2768,1562,2769,1306,1060,2771,2770,2677,701,2772],"class_list":["post-6708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-stories","tag-bishop-miguel-angel-cadenas-apostolic-vicar-of-iquitos-in-northern-peru","tag-chiclayo","tag-covid-19","tag-donald-trump","tag-father-jorge-millan-cotrina","tag-gospel","tag-human-dignity","tag-janina-sesa","tag-justice-and-peace","tag-papal-trip","tag-pope-leo-xiv","tag-robert-prevost"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGod\u2019s Diplomat:\u00a0Pope\u00a0Leo\u00a0XIV Speaks Gospel to Power - Maryknoll Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"God\u2019s Diplomat:\u00a0Pope\u00a0Leo\u00a0XIV Speaks Gospel to Power - 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