As the election of a pope from the United States stunned the world, I, like so many Americans, felt shock and awe in the best sense. And when he introduced himself with the phrase “peace be with you,” it was joyful to watch Americans of many different creeds and cultures take pride in one of our own being elevated to such a sacred honor. It was also hopeful, because Pope Leo XIV’s call to dignity is universal.
I could not help thinking back, however, to a time 65 years ago, when many Americans did not think a Catholic could become president of the United States. Today, we have an American who has become a Catholic pope. The cultural shift we have witnessed over recent decades is so momentous as to be mind-boggling.
In the 1960s, anti-Catholic prejudice was so mainstream in American life that it nearly sank the chances that John F. Kennedy, my uncle, would ever take the oath of office. While campaigning, he struggled mightily to convince a skeptical public that Rome would have nothing to do with his governing decisions.
Today, we have come far with respect to tolerating religious differences and a great many other things that have historically divided us. But we still struggle with giving people of all backgrounds basic human dignity, which is why I hope—somewhat ironically, you might say—that Pope Leo actually does have a meaningful impact on American politics and culture in the years ahead.
I am not at all advocating for a breakdown of the wall between church and state. I am saying that our state might have a lot to learn from the church at this particular moment, with this particular pope.
When I travel around the country, I hear from Americans who feel we are in a crisis of broken trust, and a lack of connection and belonging. From his very first words as pope, Leo has sought to be a uniter calling for a more peaceful world. We need leaders who remind us of what is possible, who bring out the best in us while discouraging the worst.
In comments earlier this week, he went even further, backing free speech and the free press, and showing that he is savvy about the kind of messaging that dominates algorithm-driven modern media and poisons our public sphere. “Let us disarm communication of all prejudice and resentment, fanaticism and even hatred; let us free it from aggression,” he said. “We do not need loud, forceful communication but rather communication that is capable of listening.”
These words have been heartening to me because, for the past several years, I have been on a mission to lower the country’s political temperature by replacing the contempt we so often hear in everyday speech with dignity. Pope Leo reminds us that we can solve problems, ease divisions and prevent violence if we pay closer attention to how we interact with one another in times of conflict or stress.
Our polarization problem is not caused by mere disagreement. It is a result of how we act when we disagree. Our language and actions are often awash in contempt, which only deepens our divides because it stokes a desire for revenge, which then kicks off a vicious cycle of retribution. If we want to come together and solve problems, we should turn away from this contempt and toward dignity.
We urgently need strong voices and trusted moral leaders to say that the belittling, dehumanization and contempt that has become normalized in society is not at all normal, and that there is a better way.
On Sunday in St. Peter’s Square, Pope Leo delivered a homily calling for unity at an inaugural Mass attended by hundreds of thousands of people, including world leaders and dignitaries.
“We still see too much discord,” he said, “too many wounds caused by hatred, violence, prejudice, the fear of difference and an economic paradigm that exploits the Earth’s resources and marginalizes the poorest.”
From all that we have learned about Pope Leo XIV, he has taught this lesson, undergirded by Catholic social teaching, his whole life. If that message comes from Rome and resonates all over America and the world, we will be better for it.
