May 12, 2025
Chicago native Robert Prevost made history on May 8, 2025, becoming Pope Leo XIV—the first American to lead the Catholic Church’s 1.4 billion followers—after the death of Pope Francis in late April.
Like his two predecessors, Pope Francis made bold gestures to deepen Catholic-Jewish relations, shaped by Nostra Aetate, the landmark 1965 Vatican declaration that rejected antisemitism and collective Jewish guilt for Jesus’ death, affirmed Judaism’s eternal covenant, and fostered mutual respect.
Francis visited Israel on his first papal pilgrimage, prayed at Auschwitz, and in his final Easter address, called for the release of Israeli hostages. He consistently condemned antisemitism as contrary to Christian values.
“All signs point to a continuation of the Catholic commitment to combating antisemitism and an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen the Catholic-Jewish friendship that has flourished for more than six decades,” said Rabbi Noam Marans, AJC’s Director of Interreligious Affairs.
“We look forward to a close relationship with Pope Leo XIV as we continue to advance positive Catholic-Jewish relations for the benefit of Catholics, Jews, and all of humanity,” he said.
In fact, Pope Leo XIV wrote to Jewish leaders personally, including Marans, with these comforting words, “Trusting in the assistance of the Almighty, I pledge to continue and strengthen the church’s dialogue and cooperation with the Jewish people in the spirit of the Second Vatican Council’s declaration Nostra Aetate.”
How will Pope Leo XIV address rising antisemitism, navigate the Israel-Hamas War, and strengthen Catholic-Jewish relations in the face of these global challenges? Here are four things to know that might provide clues.
1. Attached to the Global South
Many church watchers have said Pope Leo XIV was the least American of all the American cardinals.
Yes, Leo XIV grew up in Chicago and returned for short stints after he was ordained by the Augustinian religious order. But most of his ministry and clerical career have been in the Andes Mountains of Peru and the upper echelons of the Vatican, where it is unlikely that he regularly encountered Jews.
Halfway through his first speech as pope, he switched from Italian to Spanish to greet his Peruvian flock. "A greeting to all and in particular to my dear Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru,” he said, signaling his allegiance to the Global South, where anti-Israel sentiments loom large.
2. Israel-Hamas War
It is unclear where Leo XIV stands on Israel’s defensive operation in Gaza, which began after the October 7, 2023, Hamas massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis and kidnapping of more than 250 hostages.
Pope Francis often waded into the thorny issue of the Gaza conflict. The former pontiff spoke regularly with members of Gaza’s very tiny Catholic minority, showing deep concern about the humanitarian conditions there. He also drew controversy late last year when he presided over a Nativity scene at the Vatican that featured a keffiyeh-draped baby Jesus.
In his first Sunday blessing as pontiff, Leo called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip, and the release of all hostages.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted congratulations to the new pontiff: “I wish the first Pope from the United States success in fostering hope and reconciliation among all faiths.”
“As a result of the stress in Catholic-Jewish relations engendered by Francis’ criticisms of Israel, many committed to the relationship understand that the new Pontiff’s thoughts on the conflict will be closely watched,” said Marans
3. He Learned From The Best
Not every pope makes Catholic social teaching central to his papacy. But not every pope studied that social gospel under a giant of Catholic-Jewish relations - a legendary priest and professor who prioritized fighting antisemitism.
The Rev. John Pawlikowski, who taught for nearly half a century at the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and co-founded the school’s Catholic-Jewish Studies Program, recalls a newly ordained priest in 1982 named Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV, soaking in every lesson.
“As a student and supporter of the Vatican II mindset – and that should include Nostra Aetate – he would be one that still remains in my mind,” Pawlikowski added. “He had a strong commitment to the church’s teaching on social justice, and that resonated with me.”
Marans said it’s hard to imagine that someone raised in Chicago – a city of seminaries and a virtual laboratory for Catholic-Jewish relations – would not carry forth the lessons he learned under Pawlikowski.
“Pawlikowski is among the foreshadowers of papal language about the relationship,” Marans said. “He was and is a positive and influential shaper of Catholic-Jewish relations.”
4. All in a Name
Popes traditionally choose their titles in homage to the previous pontiff with the same name to signal their priorities.
Based on how he has emphasized unity in most of his church addresses, he likely isn’t paying homage to Leo X, who funded his extravagant lifestyle with money from papal indulgences and spawned the schism known as the Protestant Reformation. Leo XII also hopefully isn’t his muse either. As soon as he rose to power in 1823, he outlawed property ownership for Jews, and revived persecution from the Middle Ages that led to a Jewish exodus from Italy. Instead, all signs point to Pope Leo XIII.
More than a century ago, Leo XIII wrote the landmark encyclical Rerum Novarum, which laid the foundation for how the church would apply its social gospel, or teachings about human dignity and the common good, to contemporary social issues, including prejudice, workers’ rights, and just war.
As a violation of human dignity and a threat to the common good, the church’s teachings hold that antisemitism is a scourge that must be eradicated. This is why Pawlikowski made antisemitism a core lesson in his course on Catholic social teaching.
“It’s a prime example of social hatred through the centuries,” he said.
