Pope Leo XIV Reviews Key Appointments and Francis-era Policies

Francis had met regularly with individual survivors but maintained distance from activist groups.

Several upcoming vacancies will allow Leo to shape church leadership. The cardinal who heads the Chicago archdiocese turned 77 in March, exceeding the usual retirement age for bishops by two years. The archbishop of Los Angeles reaches age 75 in December.

Leo has already selected an archbishop to succeed the cardinal who leads the New York archdiocese. A professor of law and religion at Villanova University described that choice as consistent with Leo’s approach of avoiding strong ideological shifts in such decisions.

At the Vatican, the cardinal heading the liturgy office, which enforced Francis’ restrictions on the traditional Latin Mass, turned 76. His eventual successor will be watched for indications of how Leo intends to handle that divisive matter. Another cardinal, aged 78, continues to lead the office for family and laity while serving as camerlengo and on key financial and appeals committees.

A Canadian cardinal who heads the Vatican office dealing with migrants, the environment and development will turn 80 in July. That milestone will exclude him from voting in the next conclave, reducing the number of voting-age cardinals to 117. The development indicates Leo could name his first group of new cardinals within the next year.

Leo has held private audiences that offer some indication of topics he is examining. He has indicated interest in hearing directly from traditionalists as he considers ways to address divisions over the old liturgy. Two significant challenges lie ahead.

Pius X, a breakaway traditionalist group, are scheduled to be consecrated without papal approval. The act would constitute a schismatic step leading to automatic excommunication and test Leo’s authority. Traditionalist Catholics who remain in full communion with the Vatican are observing how he responds.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Vatican continues to oppose elements of the German Catholic Church’s Synodal Path. The proposals include a permanent mixed decision-making body of bishops and lay Catholics as well as formal blessings for same-sex couples.

A confrontation could occur when the German proposals reach Rome for final review. Leo’s first encyclical is expected in the coming weeks. It will address artificial intelligence along with peace and justice concerns. The pope has compared the scope of the AI revolution to the industrial changes addressed by Pope Leo XIII in the encyclical Rerum Novarum.