Pope Leo XIV will ‘complete and complement [the U.S.] political agenda’: Cardinal Cupich

Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich said the selection of Pope Leo XIV fits into the current political landscape, especially when considering the Trump administration.

“I think he’s going to help complete and complement our political agenda. He’ll talk a lot about the immigrations, as well, because he knows about the sufferings of people and the real needs that they have for a better life,” Cupich said Sunday to ‘This Week’ co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “And he knows too that people in Oceania, for instance, where the — the rising sea levels are just — getting — overwhelming those islands, where people are trying to escape, he sees the drug trade that’s happening in Central and South America where there are weapons from the United States going there. He knows that those people need an option. And he’ll call for, I think, as the bishops have in the United States, fixing this broken immigration system.”

Pope Leo XIV made history on Thursday as the first American pope. The pope, formerly Cardinal Robert Prevost, was born in Chicago but lived in Peru for about 20 years before eventually being tapped by the late Pope Francis to serve in the Vatican.

During Leo XIV’s papacy, he is expected to face difficult questions regarding the church — including the actions of President Donald Trump.

Pope Leo XIV is an alumnus of the Catholic institution Villanova University. Villanova President Rev. Peter Donohue said that Pope Leo XIV represents both the United States and the world.

“I think [Leo XIV] is really that, you know, this is somebody that has an American spirit but has also a global spirit,” Donohue said on “This Week.”

Here are more highlights from Cupich and Donohue’s interviews:

Cupich on the current political landscape

Raddatz: And this morning, of course, the pope speaking to the people. And I was interested because he said, I carry in the hearts the suffering of the beloved Ukrainian people. He also talked about how saddened he is about what’s happening in the Gaza Strip. What does that tell us about this pope?

Cupich: Well, he picked up on the words of Pope Francis that there’s a world war going on piecemeal. And it is something for him to be a voice, as he said, for peace at the very beginning of his announcement when he was presented to the people. He cares deeply about that. And I would just make the point that here you had 133 cardinals from 71 different countries able to come to a decision within 24 hours. Hopefully that’s a sign of unity that the rest of the world can embrace.

Cupich on Pope Leo XIV’s global history

Raddatz: Talk about what being an American means as a pope, given he has lived in Peru for so many years and has a global vision in a way.

Cupich:: And he’s a Peruvian citizen. He has a Peruvian passport. I think that’s important and to recognize. My hope would be that he has now a new platform to reintroduce what the church has always called for in terms of its social justice agenda and it will — it will give people another opportunity to take a second look at what Francis was saying. But now in the, in the words and the voice of an American who speaks like an American, I think that’s going to be very powerful going forward.

Cupich on sex abuse scandal in Catholic church

Raddatz: And, Cardinal, I have to ask you about this, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, as they are called, penned an open letter this week drawing attention to sexual abuse in the church and looking at how — before he became pope, that — that Prevost handled some of the allegations allegedly. How do you think he will handle the history of this church in that regard?

Cupich: Well, I know from talking to him and also looking at his handling of cases, that he’s very committed to the norms that were put by Pope Francis and he does care about them. He has a record of meeting with victims, of reporting things to authorities, of doing the investigations, and also reaching out to — to heal victims. I am confident that he will move in that direction. And everything I have seen shows that he’s committed to that.

Donohue on the significance of Pope Leo XIV

Raddatz: And obviously, much has been made of him being an American. I want you to describe that part of him that is an American. Why it is so significant that we have an American pope?

Donohue: I think for American Catholics, it was something that we never really thought would possible. Whenever people talked about it — it was always like — the — you know, America is such a powerful nation. The church was always a little suspicious about having, you know, the pres-, the pope being an American. But I think for Leo — I’m still trying to get used to calling him that — it is something that he is certainly grew up in America. He’s a native Chicago. He loves Chicago, his family, his brother still lives there. He comes back here whenever he can. He has friends in the area. But his — his world experience has not really been in America. So, he — he’s served a very short time here in the United States as an Augustinian. Most of his time was either in Peru or in Rome, so his experience was — while growing up American, his experience after college and certainly after being ordained a priest was — was always much more global, much more international.