The 267th Pope is announced! Robert Prevost becomes first American pope, but his handling of gender diversity and church scandals is controversial

133 cardinals gathered at the Sistine Chapel from May 7th to hold the papal election conference. According to the Vatican News report, after the 4th round of voting, the 267th Pope was finally elected. White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel chimney at 6:07 PM local time on the 8th. The faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square showed excited expressions, and Cardinal Deacon Dominique Mamberti announced on the balcony of St. Peter's Basilica that we have a new Pope.

The Papal Conclave Has a Hundred-Year History

The new Pope must be elected through a secret conference (Conclave), which has a hundred-year history and is named from the Latin "cumclave" (locked with a key), symbolizing strict isolation from the outside world to ensure a fair election. The papal election team is composed of cardinals. Among the 252 cardinals, 133 are under 80 years old, and according to the rules, only cardinals under 80 are eligible to participate in the election, known as cardinal electors.

During voting, cardinal electors will write their preferred papal candidate on the ballot. After the first round of voting on the first afternoon, if no one is elected, starting from the second day, a maximum of 4 rounds of voting can be conducted each day, up to the second round in the afternoon.

The election condition is: if a candidate obtains more than two-thirds of the total votes, they will be elected as the new Pope. If no one meets the standard after each vote, a maximum of 4 rounds of voting can be conducted daily until a new Pope is elected.

First American Pope, with Different Stances on Gender Diversity and Pope Francis

The new Pope is confirmed to be American Bishop Robert Francis Prevost, who is the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church and the first Pope from the United States. Robert Francis Prevost was born in Chicago and is currently 69 years old. He began his career at the Augustinian Order locally. He has served in Peru and worked as a parish priest, diocesan official, theology teacher, and administrator. The previous Pope Francis appointed him as a cardinal in 2023.

The New York Times previously introduced Robert Francis Prevost in an article titled "Never Had a Pope from the United States, Can This Cardinal Change This Status?". The report describes him as similar to Pope Francis in caring for the poor and immigrants, and in his way of interacting with people. He once said: "Bishops should not be little princes sitting in a kingdom." He believes that church leaders should be sincere, humble, close to the people they serve, walk with them, and share their hardships.

Pope Francis is known for his inclusivity towards the LGBTQ+ community. However, the New York Times report also points out that Robert Francis Prevost's views on the LGBTQ+ community are less inclusive. In 2012, he lamented in a speech that Western news media and popular culture foster "sympathy for beliefs and behaviors contrary to the Gospel", and mentioned "homosexual lifestyle" and "alternative families composed of same-sex partners and their adopted children".

While serving as a bishop in Peru, he opposed gender awareness education and stated: "Promoting gender ideology is confusing because it tries to create genders that do not exist." He has also been criticized for handling cases of priests allegedly sexually abusing minors.