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Pope Leo XIV celebrates first Mass as pontiff
Pope Leo XIV, history’s first North American pope, said Friday that his election was both a cross and a blessing as he celebrated his first Mass in Sistine Chapel (Video: Associated Press.)
Pope Leo XIV was welcomed as the newest pontiff by a sea of faithful and an uninterrupted view of St. Peter’s Square on Thursday.
Conversely, Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Prevost, introduced himself to the public using Italian and Spanish dialects and greeted onlookers both in person and virtually with a concise speech about building bridges and fostering hope for a synodal church.
“In his opening remarks, he mentioned being a missionary church that includes all people, and that comes right out of Pope Francis,” Dennis Doyle, professor emeritus at the University of Dayton in Ohio, told Fox News Digital.
Doyle taught at the Catholic research university for 40 years.
Pope Leo XIV leads the Pro Ecclesia Mass in the Sistine Chapel, on May 9, 2025, in Vatican City, Vatican. White smoke was seen over the Vatican early yesterday evening as the Conclave elected American Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the 267th Pontiff. The moderate from Chicago and a close friend of Pope Francis will be known as Pope Leo XIV. (Photo by Vatican Media/Vatican Pool – Corbis/Getty Images)
“It starts out with a condemnation of socialism,” Doyle said. “Although, by socialism, he meant what we would only use the word ‘communism’ today.”
“He condemned it as being out of touch with the natural law. Because that natural law would tell us that ownership is something that is kind of natural to human beings; that we’re going to have property, if we make things and so on, that they are ours,” Doyle added.
Doyle said that Catholic social teaching is general and addresses basic human principles about the economy and society with some room for interpretation.
“I think that he’s going to be a very balanced pope,” Doyle said.
