Pope Leo XIV Celebrates His Inaugural Mass as Pope
On Friday, Pope Leo XIV, the first pope from North America, described his election as both a responsibility and a gift as he led his inaugural Mass in the 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.
Pope Leo, originally named Robert Francis Prevost, addressed the public in Italian and Spanish, welcoming spectators present and online with a brief discourse on creating unity and instilling optimism for a collaborative church.
“He spoke about being an inclusive missionary church, an idea directly inspired by Pope Francis,” said Dennis Doyle, professor emeritus at the University of Dayton in Ohio, in an interview with 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.
