A month with Leo XIV: A new style of communication with a message of unity and the search for peace

On May 8, 2025, Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV. A month after his election, the new pope has made it clear that his style is diametrically opposed to Francis' way of communicating and his two biggest priorities are the unity of the Catholic Church and the search for peace.

A discreet style of his own, with no changes in Francis' organizational chart

With everyone watching his moves and words in search of clues that point to continuity or rupture with the changes introduced by his predecessor, Leo XIV has been able to make his own mark far from Francis' search for headlines, but with clarity and forcefulness.

So far, beyond his unconditional goal of a "disarming peace," his messages and decisions still have not indicated where his papacy is headed. His nods to the family formed by a man and a woman, which some see as groundbreaking, do not actually depart from Francis, and remain in line with what Prevost has always stated.

Nor have there been any noteworthy appointments that might show the profile of people he wants to count on. The biggest change to date has been the departure of the controversial Cardinal Vicenzo Cardinal Paglia as grand chancellor of the John Paul II Pontifical Theological Institute for the Sciences of Marriage and Family and as president of the Academy for Life.

However, Paglia's dismissal has come about because the veteran cardinal has reached 80 years of age, making it mandatory for him to tender his resignation. His replacements, in fact, have been the second in line: Cardinal Baldassare Reina for the John Paul II and Renzo Pegoraro at the Academy.

Condemning the "logic of exclusion"

The celebration of the first month coincides with the celebration of Pentecost, the feast with which Christians celebrate the sending of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles and their being sent to evangelize the world. A moment that calls for the union of believers and universality in the face of the rupture that arose from Babel with the confusion of languages.

Prevost dedicated the homily to condemn what he called "the logic of exclusion," which he linked to "political nationalism," making a call to put into practice "the commandment of love," allowing "the Spirit to break down borders and tear down the walls of indifference and hatred" in a world torn by wars and forced migrations.

“Where there is love, there is no room for prejudice, for the distances of security that distance us from our neighbor, for the logic of exclusion that we unfortunately see emerging also in political nationalism. The Spirit breaks down borders and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred. The Church must always become anew what she already is: she must open the frontiers between peoples and break down the barriers between classes and races. In her there can be neither the forgotten nor the despised,” he said. 

The paradox of isolated men in the midst of a hyper-connected society

Leo XIV also warned of the paradox of an increasingly connected society, with a man who, nevertheless, is more and more individualistic, more and more selfish, shunning the other: "The Holy Spirit comes to challenge, within us, the risk of a life that is atrophying, absorbed by individualism. It is sad to observe how in a world where the occasions for socializing multiply, we run the risk of being paradoxically more alone, always connected and yet unable to establish links, always immersed in the crowd, but subtracting disoriented and solitary travelers."

This individualism also intoxicates interpersonal relationships, especially between couples, by the desire to dominate the other: "I also think - with much pain - of the cases in which a relationship is intoxicated by the desire to dominate the other, an attitude that often leads to violence, as unfortunately demonstrated by the numerous and recent cases of violence against women."

However, "when the love of God dwells in us, we are able to open ourselves to our brothers, to overcome our rigidities, to overcome fear of those who are different" recalled the pope, who underlined that "the spirit also acts between people, transforming those more hidden dangers that contaminate our relationships, such as misunderstandings and prejudices."