Pope Leo Xiv's Name Gives Clue To How He'll Handle Social, Political Divides, Bishop Says

American author, speaker and theologian Bishop Robert Barron was astatine nan Vatican this week to witnesser nan predetermination of a caller pope, and he shared his thoughts pinch Fox News Digital astir Cardinal Robert Prevost's "intriguing" caller papal name.

Papal names are often very symbolic pinch respect to really a Pope will service arsenic nan leader of nan Catholic Church. Typically, Pope's prime nan names of predecessors they respect aliases want to emulate. Prevost yet went pinch Leo XIV successful grant of Pope Leo XIII, who served from 1878 to 1903.

"He could person been Francis II, and we would person said, ‘Oh, location he is intelligibly successful nan statement of Francis.’ He could person been John Paul III, past we would person thought, ‘Oh, he’s very overmuch successful that much blimpish line.' He could person been John XXIV, and we opportunity ‘Oh, now he’s a existent revolutionary liberal, et cetera,'" Barron said. "The truth that he went back, good complete 100 years, to this very absorbing and pivotal fig … our caller pope was saying, I too, want a captious engagement pinch nan modern world, not simply a ‘no,’ but besides not simply a ‘yes,’ not simply an acquiescence to it."

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From near to right: Pope John XXIII, Pope John Paul II, Pope Francis I, Pope Leo XIV (Getty Images/Fox News)

Barron pointed retired that Leo XIII was a pivotal fig owed to nan timing of his reign, which came during a infinitesimal erstwhile the Church was contending pinch nan tremendous governmental and philosophical upheavals of nan 18th and 19th centuries, specified arsenic nan French and American Revolutions, and nan preamble of philosophies specified arsenic Marxism. 

"The church's first guidance [to these changes] was very negative. It was a awesome ‘no’ to modernity. By nan extremity of nan 19th century, I think, pinch a definite region and a definite captious intelligence, nan religion was consenting to participate into a more, telephone it, imaginative engagement pinch modernity. And I deliberation Pope Leo nan 13th represents precisely that," Barron said. 

The bishop pointed to nan Rerum Novarum to further his point, an encyclical missive issued by Pope Leo XII successful 1891.

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"In that document, [Leo XII] is simply a fierce force of Marxism, a fierce force of socialism and communism, a awesome defender of backstage spot and of nan marketplace economy," Barron said. "So you say, 'Okay, there's that awesome ‘no’ to nan left-wing economical revolutions.' At nan aforesaid time, successful that aforesaid letter, [Leo XII] comes retired powerfully successful favour of nan correct to form unions. He comes retired very powerfully successful favour of what we telephone nan cosmopolitan destination of goods."

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV (Right) took his papal sanction from nan late-19th period Pope Leo XIII (Left). (Getty Images/Fox News)

"In fact, Pope Leo says successful that letter, erstwhile nan requirements of necessity and propriety person been met successful your life, nan remainder of what you ain belongs to nan poor," Barron continued. "That's not a conscionable a standard, boring, mainstream constituent of view. That's a beautiful revolutionary statement. But announcement nan beautiful equilibrium successful that missive betwixt ‘yes’ to backstage property, nan awesome ‘no’ to socialism and Marxism, but nan awesome ‘yes’ to nan cosmopolitan destination of goods. Leo sets nan reside thereby for nan remainder of Catholic societal teaching that followed him."

In conclusion, Barron said he thinks Prevost's action of Leo XIV makes nan caller pope "a very absorbing player" successful position of nan statement betwixt nan Right and nan Left successful politics. 

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"[Leo XVI] doesn't fresh – and I've said this 1,000 times – he and different awesome representatives of Catholic societal school don't fresh into our categories of near and right," Barron said. "They don't fresh into Democrat-Republican, they're successful a abstraction beyond those distinctions. So, I deliberation that's what's possibly astir absorbing astir him."