Matthew Carnes, Jesuit priest, professor of political science and vice president for mission and ministry at Santa Clara University: ““In the early days of his pontificate, Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly signaled how important his experience in Peru—as a priest, pastor and bishop – is to his worldview and his commitments. Much like his Latin American predecessor, Pope Francis, he is primarily concerned about the welfare and opportunities of the poor, and he has given special attention to the plight of migrants and refugees. At the same time, his upbringing in Chicago has given him an affinity for ‘ordinary people,’ and he lifts up the experience of the working class in North America and around the globe. His choice of the name Leo hearkens back to Pope Leo XIII, whose encyclical Rerum novarum articulated for the first time the central tenets of what has become known as Catholic Social Thought. Leo XIV projects a continuity with the Catholic Social Thought tradition, with its emphasis on the dignity of human life and of human…”