Geline Salac

Extremely online Pope Leo unafraid to talk politics

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Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/hVNFqTj6CxE?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div><p>LIMA, Peru - From pillorying the US vice president to denouncing the death penalty, Pope Leo has proven unafraid to tackle prickly political issues on social media -- making him the first &quot;extremely online&quot; pontiff.</p><p>When JD Vance suggested that Christians should love their family, neighbors, community and fellow citizens -- in that order -- one very notable Christian took umbrage.</p><p>Robert Prevost, now better known to the world as Pope Leo, quickly took to X to take a theological swipe at the vice president.</p><p>&quot;JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn&#x27;t ask us to rank our love for others,&quot; he wrote, reposting a columnist&#x27;s searing opinion piece and prompting tens of thousands of likes and a slew of barbed comments.</p><p>Pope Benedict may have been the first to tweet under the handle @Pontifex in 2012, but Pope Leo is undoubtedly the first to take the Chair of Saint Peter with the baggage of a long social media history.</p><p>In 14 years since his X account was created, he has posted more than 400 times, opining on a range of hot-button issues: racism, sexual abuse by the clergy, Covid-19, the police murder of George Floyd and Russia&#x27;s invasion of Ukraine.</p><p>Perhaps unsurprisingly for an American who spent decades in Peru and took up its citizenship, immigration is a topic close to his heart.</p><p>The new pope has notably amplified criticism of US President Donald Trump&#x27;s immigration policies, reposting a 2017 article which called refugee bans &quot;a dark hour of US history&quot; and an abandonment of &quot;American values.&quot;</p><p>He has repeatedly taken Vance to task, challenging a vice president whose religious views show all the zeal of a recent convert to Catholicism.</p><p>It is clear from his ample online commentary, interviews and video blogs that retweets are almost always endorsements.</p><p>In 2020, days after African American Floyd was suffocated to death under a police officer&#x27;s knee, he implored fellow members of the clergy to speak up.</p><p>&quot;We need to hear more from leaders in the Church, to reject racism and seek justice,&quot; he posted.</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-0&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=1266783036953317377&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-05-08T23%3A58%3A40.479611%3A38bac8ae-f603-43f1-87b8-4fa15474cc4f%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=364b13eacd2c9f78e1bfb7333ee45cff317aa3b8&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:249px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="1266783036953317377"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><p>He has also demanded more action of the church in ousting members of the clergy who sexually abused children.</p><p>&quot;If you are a victim of sexual abuse by a priest, report it,&quot; he told Peruvian paper La Republica this month.</p><p>&quot;We reject cover-ups and secrecy; that causes a lot of harm. We have to help people who have suffered due to wrongdoing.&quot;</p><p>Embracing another contentious issue, in 2014 he wrote that it was &quot;time to end the death penalty&quot; and has repeated that point over the years in interviews, masses and in public remarks.</p><div><br/></div><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display:flex;max-width:550px;width:100%;margin-top:10px;margin-bottom:10px"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&amp;embedId=twitter-widget-1&amp;features=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%3D%3D&amp;frame=false&amp;hideCard=false&amp;hideThread=false&amp;id=573543286377484288&amp;lang=en&amp;origin=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com%2F%23%2Fworkspace%2Fmonitoring%3Fitem%3Durn%3Anewsml%3Aod2-workbench-api.abs-cbn.com%3A2025-05-08T23%3A58%3A40.479611%3A38bac8ae-f603-43f1-87b8-4fa15474cc4f%26action%3Dedit&amp;sessionId=364b13eacd2c9f78e1bfb7333ee45cff317aa3b8&amp;theme=light&amp;widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&amp;width=550px" style="position:static;visibility:visible;width:550px;height:225px;display:block;flex-grow:1" data-tweet-id="573543286377484288"></iframe></div><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charSet="utf-8"></script><div><br/></div><p>&quot;We have to be pro-life at all times&quot; he once told assembled Peruvian journalists in his fluent and modestly accented Spanish.</p><p>Still, he is also unafraid to post a joke, including a suggestion that while many people are intelligent, most are asymptomatic.</p><p>Like many of us, the tempo of his social media posts appeared to increase during pandemic lockdowns.</p><p>It is unclear if he will extend that social media chattiness from inside the Apostolic Palace.</p><p>arb/sla</p><p>© Agence France-Presse</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SBDle5-v1gw?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>From pillorying the US vice president to denouncing the death penalty, Pope Leo has proven unafraid to tackle prickly political issues on social media -- making him the first "extremely online" pontiff.</p>

From pillorying the US vice president to denouncing the death penalty, Pope Leo has proven unafraid to tackle prickly political issues on social media -- making him the first "extremely online" pontiff.

A pope with a Twitter history: Extremely online Pope Leo unafraid to talk politics

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A pope with a Twitter history: Extremely online Pope Leo unafraid to talk politics

Agence France-Presse

Published May 09, 2025 08:05 AM PHT

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pope leo

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Robert Prevost

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