admin
On Christmas Eve at St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Leo XIV presided over what Vatican and international reports called his first Christmas Eve Mass, drawing thousands inside the basilica and many more in the square outside as families and pilgrims sought solace and tradition. The scene was both solemn and grand, a reminder that faith still moves millions even as the world stumbles on bad policy and moral confusion.
Leo XIV’s ascent to the papacy earlier this year was historic — he is the first American to hold the office, elected on May 8, 2025, a fact that has set off intense debate about the role of American political instincts inside the Vatican. Conservatives should welcome a pope who understands American faith communities, but we must also be vigilant that his background does not turn the Chair of Peter into a platform for partisan American politics.
In his homily, the new pope made clear themes of his early papacy: compassion for the poor, a call to aid strangers, and a denunciation of systems that devalue life. Those are noble Christian sentiments in words, and every Christian should be moved to charity, but charity from the clergy must not be used as a cudgel to shame nations into abandoning borders or ignoring law and order. The faithful expect moral guidance to be paired with respect for sovereign responsibility.
Leo has also quietly shifted some Vatican customs, restoring a daytime Christmas Mass and moving the Christmas Eve celebration to a later hour, gestures that signal a return to certain long-standing practices and the liturgical rhythms that many conservatives and traditional Catholics cherish. Restoring positive traditions is welcome, and it shows that this papacy is capable of honoring the Church’s heritage even as it speaks about contemporary issues.
But Americans should be frank: a pope who publicly criticizes U.S. immigration policies and casts complex national debates in stark moral terms risks alienating millions who support compassionate but secure borders. The Church can encourage private charity and global aid, but it should stop lecturing democratically elected governments on policies that voters must debate and decide. Religious leaders have influence; wielding it to shape foreign policy or domestic law deserves scrutiny.
This Christmas, hardworking Americans should reclaim the season’s message of family, faith, and personal responsibility without bowing to ideological pressure from any quarter, however exalted. Pray for peace and for leaders — ecclesiastical and civic — to show prudence and humility, not grandstanding. Our nation prospers when faith inspires private charity and public prudence, not when sermons become substitute policymaking.
