John Nichols writes:

Pope Leo XIII, the leader of the Catholic Church from 1878 to 1903, came to be known as ”The Pope of the Workers” because of his groundbreaking 1891 encyclical on the Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor, which provided the outline for modern Catholic social justice teaching. Taking its name, Rerum Novarum, from the Latin phrase for “of revolutionary change,” the encyclical recognized that a “remedy must be found quickly for the misery and wretchedness pressing so unjustly on the majority of the working class.”

With its embrace of trade unionism and its sharp critiques of capitalism, the encyclical was a transformational message for its time. It did not embrace socialism, as the former pope explained. But its championing of the labor movement and condemnation of robber-baron abuses resonate to this day.

So it was notable indeed that Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born Augustinian priest who served for many years as the Bishop of Chiclayo in Peru, chose to take the name Pope Leo XIV when he was proclaimed as the 268th leader of the Catholic Church on Thursday. As Dr. Sr. Gemma Simmonds CJ, the past president of the Catholic Theological Association of Great Britain, was quick to point out, the new pope’s name can be read as an association of his papacy with that of “the great champion of the poor, the great builder of Catholic social teaching.”

Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi, a devout Catholic, made a similar observation, writing, “For many of us, the name Leo XIV happily brings to mind Leo XIII’s Rerum Novarum, which was a blessing for working people.”

There were other echoes of social justice language in the new pope’s Thursday announcement to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square: “To all you brothers and sisters of Rome, Italy, of all the world, we want to be a synodal church, walking and always seeking peace, charity, closeness, especially to those who are suffering.” [Continue reading…]

The New York Times reports:

Robert Francis Prevost, the Chicago-born cardinal selected on Thursday as the new pope, is descended from Creole people of color from New Orleans.

The pope’s maternal grandparents, both of whom are described as Black or mulatto in various historical records, lived in the city’s Seventh Ward, an area that is traditionally Catholic and a melting pot of people with African, Caribbean and European roots.

The grandparents, Joseph Martinez and Louise Baquié, eventually moved to Chicago in the early 20th century and had a daughter: Mildred Martinez, the pope’s mother.

The discovery means that Leo XIV, as the pope will be known, is not only breaking ground as the first U.S.-born pontiff. He also comes from a family that reflects the many threads that make up the complicated and rich fabric of the American story.

The pope’s background was unearthed Thursday by a New Orleans genealogist, Jari C. Honora, and confirmed to The New York Times by the pope’s older brother, John Prevost, 71, who lives in the Chicago suburbs.

“This discovery is just an additional reminder of how interwoven we are as Americans,” Mr. Honora said in a text message late Thursday. “I hope that it will highlight the long history of Black Catholics, both free and enslaved, in this country, which includes the Holy Father’s family.” [Continue reading…]