The American cardinal with Italian, French, and Spanish roots was close to Pope Francis, especially concerning the environment, migrants, and helping the poor.

Prevost is characterized by discretion but knows how to listen and handle issues. He is a polyglot who speaks English, Spanish, Italian, French, and Portuguese and can read Latin and German, giving him a significant advantage in communication.

He has extensive experience with Latin America. He was a missionary in Peru and was the chief superior of the Augustinians for two terms.

In 1987 – 1988, he was in charge of the pastoral care of the vocations of the Augustinian order in the USA and the director of missions for the province in Chicago. He then returned to Peru, where he spent ten years. From 2001 to 2013, he was the superior of the Augustinian order.

The bishop is a shepherd, not a manager.

In January 2023, Francis appointed him prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, so he was responsible for selecting bishops worldwide.

In one of the few interviews he gave, he presented his view of the role of bishops. According to Prevost, the bishop should primarily be a shepherd, not a manager.

„We are often concerned about teaching doctrine, but we risk forgetting that our first duty is to convey the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus,“ said Cardinal Prevost for Vatican News.

As the American portal National Catholic Reporter writes, in Rome, Prevost has a reputation as a hardworking person who spends as much time looking for new bishops as solving problem cases. Such was the case of Bishop Joseph Strickland, who headed the Diocese of Tyler in Texas until his removal from office in 2023.

Pope Francis with Cardinal Prevost. Photo:

However, Prevost faced accusations that, as a bishop in Peru, he did not handle two cases of sexual abuse as he should have. Two priests were accused of abusing girls in the country in 2022. The transfer allegedly did not properly investigate the allegations and covered up the priests. However, the diocese claims that the Prevost followed all procedures and began an initial canonical investigation.

His supporters emphasize that documents indicate that Prevost not only paid attention to the victims but also did everything required by church law and followed all procedures.

However, in May 2025, there were allegations that the diocese paid three girls $150,000 to silence them.

Cardinal Prevost was a member of the seven Vatican decanates, indicating how much Pope Francis trusted the cardinal and valued his abilities.

Robert Prevost was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 14, 1955. In 1977, he entered the novitiate of the Order of St. Augustine in the province of Nostra Signora del Buon Consiglio in Saint Louis. He took his vows on August 29, 1981. He studied at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago, where he received a diploma in theology.

Even before the conclave, the NC Reporter portal pointed out that Robert Prevost’s strength is the combination of his pastoral experience from the peripheries with his orientation and ability to manage complex matters in the church. „What is a rare combination for those looking for a potential pope who shares Francis’ priorities with more emphasis on governance,“ wrote the American Catholic website.

The first words of Pope Leo XIV.

Peace be with you all!

Dear brothers and sisters, this is the first greeting of the resurrected Christ, the Good Shepherd, who gave his life for God’s flock. I, too, wish that this greeting of peace will penetrate your heart, that it will reach your families, all people wherever they are, all nations and the whole earth. Peace be with you!

This is the risen Christ’s peace—unarmed and disarmed, humble and persistent. It comes from God, from God who loves us all unconditionally. The weak but always courageous voice of Pope Francis, who blessed Rome, still sounds in our ears!

The Pope, who blessed Rome and the whole world on Easter Sunday. Let me continue with the same blessing: God loves us, loves you al,l and evil will not win! We are in God’s hands. Therefore, do not be afraid – hand in hand with God, and let us walk forward among ourselves. We are disciples of Christ. Christ is coming before us. The world needs its light. Humanity needs his presence as a bridge through which God and his love come to him. Help us too – and let’s help each other – build bridges through dialogue and meeting to be one people of peace. Thanks to Pope Francis!

I also want to thank all my fellow cardinals who chose me to become Peter’s successor and to walk with you as one church, which always seeks peace and justice, and who strives to work as men and women faithful to Jesus Christ, without fear to proclaim the gospel and be missionaries.

I am the son of St. Augustine, an Augustinian who said: „ I am a Christian with you, I am a bishop for you.“ In this spirit, we can all walk together to the homeland that God has prepared for us.

I especially greet the Roman Church! Together, we must look for ways to be a missionary church that builds bridges and conducts dialogue, always ready to accept, as this square with open arms, all who need our love, our presence, dialogue, and understanding.

(In Spanish)

And if you allow me, one word – greetings to everyone, and especially to my dear diocese of Chiclayo in Peru, where the faithful people accompanied their bishop, experienced faith with him, and gave a lot, really a lot, to remain the faithful church of Jesus Christ.

To all of you, brothers and sisters from Rome, Italy, and all over the world: We want to be a synodal church, a church on a journey that is constantly looking for peace and love and strives to be close, especially to those who suffer.

Mr. Joch writes about three mistakes: China, oaks during exhortation Amoris laetitia, and the death penalty. 

Francis, what were his mistakes?

Roman Joch

I don’t have much to say about China. Mr. Joch mentioned Cardinal Zen, Posture these days, and other cardinals who defended the agreement with China. Since neither Mr. Joch nor I has read the agreement, it is probably useless to count how many cardinals are for and against, or which one of us is willing to believe. Therefore, I prefer to move on to the problems from the texts.

Amoris laetitia and dubia

Mr Joch criticizes some of the wording in Amoris Laetitia as ambiguous. He also blames the Pope for not answering the cardinals’ doubts. Even if we omit the fact that the cardinals, for some reason, published their dubious findings less than two months after they were sent, perhaps the cardinals chose an unfortunate form of discussion. They only wanted a yes or no answer from the Pope. This is the usual procedure for oaks. 

We can see the problem already with the first dubia: cardinals ask whether people in irregular situations who live together as spouses can receive absolution and receive the Eucharist. However, in his exhortation, Pope Francis shows at length that in considering this question, one must distinguish the condition of these people, take into account mitigating circumstances, and examine whether the people in question are really in a state of mortal sin and whether they cannot be in a state of grace. 

So, it is not possible to say yes or no in all cases. However, when the cardinals ask the Pope for just this, the Pope has nothing to answer them.

Finally, it can also be seen in the oaks sent to the Pope by the slightly changed line-up of cardinals, also in connection with the synod on synodality. The Pope did not answer yes or no to those either, and he tried to show a distinction. 

Maybe this bothers someone; they want to be clear, and they don’t want any ifs. However, as the Latin statement says, bene docet qui bene distinguit – is well taught by one who distinguishes well. This approach is well known to Thomas Aquinas readers, who build the vast majority of his answers to questions on the distinction, so Dante also creates it in his Divine Comedy. Let’s speak:

Because he’s even deeper under the fool,
who, without distinction, just plano húta
In agreeing or denying such:
Because they often collapse until they lie,
What a quick opinion they admit to the world,
because simultaneously, the mind is shackled with feeling.

(Raj, 13, 115 – 120)

Pope Francis also wanted to apply this distinction. Dubies that allow only yes or no to be answered do not appear to be the best tool for such a discussion. Therefore, it seems that the Pope did not answer precisely for this reason, and when he answered, he did not answer yes or no.

Capital punishment and human dignity

The second „literary“ topic is the death penalty. Mr. Joch does not like the Pope’s argument that we better understand human dignity today. Mr. Joch asks whether the Pope understands human dignity better than St. Paul, St. Augustine, Vol. Thomas Aquinas or Kant.

This suggestive question is perhaps best answered by examining what these holy men say about the death penalty.

Saint Paul does not say anything directly about the death penalty. But death penalty advocates quote Paul’s words from the Epistle to the Romans:

After all, she [moc vladárov] is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, then fear, for it is not in vain that he carries the sword; she is God’s servant, the executor of anger on the one who does wrong. (Rim 13, 4)

That’s it. Saint Paul speaks these words in the context of submitting to worldly power (v. 1 and 5), namely „not only for fear of anger, but also for conscience“ (v. 5). So St. Paul mentions „meč“ in the context of another topic. He doesn’t discuss it much; he mentions it as a fact that his sheep have to take into account, but they don’t do much with it. That’s why he doesn’t even have much reason to criticize him.

Moreover, the question is whether St. Paul has the death penalty in mind here and whether he does not use the word sword in general as a symbol of punishment or coercion. When Christ said that he did not bring peace but the sword, he understood this term as family disputes (Mt 10, 34 – 35).

But let’s face it, St. Paul means the death penalty. We will say that if he does not criticize him, why should we? Just look at another topic, slavery. St. Paul devotes himself to this much more, he commands slaves to obey their masters and commands masters to treat slaves humanely (Ef 6, 5 – 9), not to set them free. True, in individual cases, he asks for dismissal, he does not command (Flm 8 – 16). But does this mean that we should not have a principled problem with slavery when St. Paul did not?

The situation is similar to St. Augustine. A fleeting remark in another context with unclear binding and the opposite personal practice. V God’s state Augustine discusses the sack of Rome and mentions how some holy women committed suicide for fear of rape. He rejects such a solution, contrary to the order You shall not kill. And just marginally notes: 

Therefore they did not act against the commandment »Nonkillesh« those who waged wars at God’s command or who, because they had power from the state or office according to the laws of God, that is, according to the command of the most just reason, they punished criminals with death. (God’s state I, 21)

It continues about Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac, Jephthah’s sacrifice of his own daughter, and Samson’s death together with his enemies. Therefore, there is also the question of whether Augustine even talks about the death penalty in all states or only in Israel, which alone followed the „ laws of God,” which would also indicate the placement of this mention among other Old Testament events.

Augustine’s position on the death penalty is also illustrated by the fact that this influential bishop mixed in with the competencies of civil authorities and asked them for clemency for several death row inmates.

Thomas Aquinas already deals with the death penalty in more detail. In the context of human dignity in this punishment, it states:

When a person sins, he deviates from the order of reason and thus falls away from human dignity (, thanks to which a person is naturally free and is for himself) and in a certain way falls into animal slavery, to handle it as it is helpful for others (Theological sum II-II q. 64 a. 2 ad 3). 

So this is what Pope Francis seems to mean when he says that today we know more about human dignity. One does not lose it even when one sins, even though perhaps Saint Thomas claimed otherwise.

The death penalty and its need

Mr. Joch rightly says that Pope Francis does not claim that the death penalty is always wrong, only that it is inadmissible. In this teaching, Francis follows the teachings of his predecessors, especially John Paul II, who only called for the death penalty in case of extreme necessity and questioned its need in practice. 

Pope Francis only sharpened his wording: since there are other ways to punish criminals, the death penalty is inadmissible because it hurts human dignity.

The claim of unnecessaryness or inadmissibility inevitably alludes to the jealously guarded competence of secular superiors before clerics who would like to interfere in everything (a, therefore, they are even more suspicious than always suspected civil servants). However, it also seems questionable whether this is so suspicious in this case. 

The states that rely the most on the death penalty are countries such as China or North Korea, about whose judgment in the fair administration of public affairs, Mr. Joch already expressed doubts in the article about Pope Francis. Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Somalia follow. ( Other countries, such as Russia, have a moratorium on the death penalty, but rely on other ways to remove threats to their regime.)

However, to avoid a global search of the death penalty states, a separate chapter consists of the United States, which is also why this topic is a topic. In this context, two approaches to this punishment are worth noting. Is the death penalty to protect the public or for the criminal to receive fair retribution? Mr. Joch also takes us from protecting society in times of war to punishing assassins and ends with Chesterton’s bon mot about hanging politicians. 

In his consideration of the death penalty, Thomas Aquinas is more for the first option. According to Aquinas, the death penalty is for the protection of the community. Although he also discusses the second option (Theological sum II-II q. 11 a. 3) and has some understanding of it, Christian society, in his opinion, practices mercy, and the death penalty is ultimately for the protection of the community (Theological sum II-II q. 64 a. 2 co). 

On the contrary, American supporters of the death penalty refer to the statement from the Book of Genesis 9, 6: „ Whoever sheds human blood, let man shed his blood, because in God’s image I created man.“ ( Kant) sees it similarly. However, it seems that this and similar provisions „nie canceled, but fulfilled“ Christ in the speech on the mountain, when he rejects the law of retribution „oko per eye, tooth per zub“ (Mt 5, 38). Many requests for remission of the death penalty from Saint Augustine can also be seen in this light.

I hope I have been able to show at least a little that Pope Francis’s actions, with which Mr Joch has a problem in his conscience, are not really mistakes. They follow the best in the Church’s tradition: careful discernment in difficult issues and the fight for human dignity, which is also manifested by mercy to the greatest sinners.