A common complaint among the Vaticanisti has been that, so far, Pope Leo XIV has had a rather “boring” pontificate. Compared to the early days of the Francis pontificate, that could be true. Given the swirl of off-the-cuff remarks and unorthodox approach in those days that sometimes led to confusion and division in the Church, is finding Leo a bit uneventful really a problem?

Some media are eager to portray Leo as in continuity with his predecessor, perhaps a necessary step to give hope the more controversial aspects of that era have a future. While Pope Leo clearly has been intent on showing no contention with Francis’ official teaching, continuity in style and governance has appeared much different. 

An immediate contrast, however, is Pope Leo’s priority of the papacy’s mission of unity, something often threatened in Francis’ pontificate and as such resulted in a more polarized and divided church — particularly exemplified most recently in “Traditionis Custodes,” the 2021 document putting strict limitations on the celebration of Mass using the 1962 Missal, and “Fiducia Supplicans,” the 2023 document that allowed for non-liturgical, pastoral blessings of same-sex couples.

Advertisement

Pope Leo has shown little interest in issues that divide, and even less patience for promoting them. He has expressed openness to a dialogue with Catholics attracted to traditional forms of worship — an approach Rome and many bishops have not necessarily taken following “Traditionis Custodes.”

In a recent interview with Crux’s Elise Allen, Leo said it is “an issue that I think also, maybe with synodality, we have to sit down and talk about. It’s become the kind of issue that’s so polarized that people aren’t willing to listen to one another, oftentimes.” 

In the same interview, Leo criticized the abuses permitted to flow from the controversial “Fiducia Supplicans,” which “goes specifically against the document that Pope Francis approved … which basically says, of course we can bless all people, but it doesn’t look for a way of ritualizing some kind of blessing because that’s not what the Church teaches.”

The biggest indicator of how Pope Leo might govern the Church so far can be found in the Sept. 26 appointment of Archbishop Filippo Iannone as then-Cardinal Prevost’s successor as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops. Interestingly, Pope Leo took over four months to make the selection of his successor, four times longer than it took Pope Benedict XVI to choose who would take his place at what was then the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a position he had held for over two decades.

The curial veteran takes the reins of a dicastery that, in the past decade, sources say, sometimes operated in a more unconventional fashion, following a less transparent and objective process for nomination of bishop than has been the expected protocol. In certain circumstances, this left the process open to maneuvering, which not only weakened the prefect’s authority and influence, but opened the door to the promotion of more ideologically minded candidates.

Advertisement

The Dicastery for Bishops oversees not just the process for nominating bishops in most dioceses throughout the world, but also investigates complaints against bishops, as well as handling the organization of ad limina visits made to Rome by bishops every five years.

While the former Cardinal Prevost’s brief tenure at the bishops’ dicastery did not reveal much about himself and his priorities, now as Pope he is perhaps revealing something about what a longer Prevost tenure might have brought to the position. So, what might Archbishop Iannone bring?

Iannone, who is said to have had a heavy hand in the 2023 rewrite of “Vos estis lux mundi,” now oversees the dicastery that ensures the proper implementation of the controversial and opaque process for bishops to investigate their own.

Likewise reflecting Leo’s unifying approach, Archbishop Iannone appears to be allergic to ideology and controversy. Iannone’s signature appeared on a letter earlier this year cautioning against the publication of lists of clergy accused of sexual misconduct, particularly “with respect to divulging confidential news concerning anyone, especially in the case concerning deceased persons.”

Archbishop Iannone brings the experience of a longtime Vatican insider, though it is unclear how much Pope Francis, who had a penchant for making decisions in a vacuum, relied on him.

All eyes are now on him in this new key role, especially watching to see how he manifests what Leo prioritizes.

Advertisement

Michael R. Heinlein is an author and promised member of the Association of Pauline Cooperators.

OSV News