The National Catholic Register portal reports on a new book by Paul Kengor, “American Pontiff: Pope Leo XIV and His Plan to Heal the Church,” which celebrates the election of Robert Francis Prevost as the first American pope. The article, excerpted from the book, focuses extensively on the new pontiff’s diverse ethnic background, hailing him as “the most ethnically diverse pope ever” and a “fitting pedigree for the universal Church.” This celebration of ethnic diversity as a qualification for the papacy, coupled with the article’s silence on the true nature of the Church and the supernatural office of the Supreme Pontiff, reveals the profound theological and spiritual bankruptcy of the post-conciliar mentality, which has reduced the Holy See to a platform for secular identity politics.
The Triumph of Secular Identity Politics Over Supernatural Reality
The article’s central thrust is the celebration of Leo XIV’s “multicultural background” and “diverse family tree,” which is presented as a positive attribute for the leader of the Catholic Church. This focus on ethnicity, race, and national origin is a hallmark of secular humanism, which judges individuals and their worth by worldly criteria rather than by their adherence to divine truth or their spiritual qualifications. The Church, however, is not a secular institution governed by the principles of diversity and inclusion; it is the Mystical Body of Christ, founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ to teach, govern, and sanctify souls for eternal salvation. The qualifications for the Supreme Pontiff are not ethnic diversity but rather “eminent knowledge, sound doctrine, and integrity of morals” (Canon 232 §1, 1917 Code of Canon Law), coupled with a profound supernatural faith and a commitment to the unchanging deposit of faith.
The article’s assertion that Leo XIV’s “ethnic catholicity” makes him “the most universal Holy Father in the history of the Roman Catholic Church” is a blasphemous inversion of the true meaning of “catholic.” Catholic means “universal” not in an ethnic or geographic sense, but in a doctrinal and spiritual one: the Church is universal because she possesses the fullness of revealed truth and is destined for all men of all times and places, regardless of their ethnic background. As Pope Pius XI taught in Quas Primas, “His reign, namely, extends not only to Catholic nations or to those who, by receiving baptism according to law, belong to the Church, even though their erroneous opinions have led them astray or discord has separated them from love, but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.” The universality of the Church is rooted in her divine mission, not in the genetic makeup of her ministers.
The Silence on Heresy and Apostasy: The Elephant in the Room
Perhaps the most glaring omission in the article is any mention of the theological and doctrinal qualifications for the papacy. The article celebrates Leo XIV’s ethnic diversity and his “plan to heal the Church,” but it remains utterly silent on the fact that the post-conciliar structures, including the papacy, have been occupied by manifest heretics and apostates since the death of Pope Pius XII. The “healing” that Leo XIV proposes is not a return to the unchanging doctrines of the faith but rather a continuation and deepening of the modernist revolution initiated by John XXIII and Vatican II.
The article’s author, Paul Kengor, and the National Catholic Register, as organs of the conciliar sect, operate within a framework that implicitly accepts the legitimacy of the post-conciliar usurpers. This is a fundamental betrayal of the Catholic faith. As St. Robert Bellarmine taught in De Romano Pontifice, “a Pope who is a manifest heretic, by that very fact ceases to be Pope and head, just as he ceases to be a Christian and member of the body of the Church.” The post-conciliar occupants of the Vatican, including Leo XIV, have repeatedly promulgated and endorsed doctrines that are contrary to the faith, such as religious liberty, ecumenism, and the evolution of dogmas. These are not mere disciplinary changes but rather fundamental betrayals of the deposit of faith, as condemned by Pope Pius IX in the Syllabus of Errors (propositions 15, 17, 18, 77, 78, 79, 80) and by St. Pius X in Lamentabili sane exitu and Pascendi Dominici gregis.
The article’s silence on these matters is not accidental; it is symptomatic of the conciliar sect’s systematic suppression of the truth about its own apostasy. By focusing on superficial characteristics like ethnicity, the article diverts attention from the spiritual catastrophe that has befallen the Church. This is a classic tactic of the enemy: to occupy the minds of the faithful with trivialities while the foundations of the faith are being destroyed.
The “American Melting Pot” as a Model for the Church?
The article’s celebration of the “American melting pot” as a source of the new pope’s qualifications is particularly revealing. The United States, far from being a Catholic nation, has historically been a bastion of Protestantism, religious indifferentism, and secular liberalism. The American experiment, with its emphasis on individual rights, religious pluralism, and the separation of Church and State, is fundamentally at odds with Catholic teaching on the social reign of Christ the King. As Pope Pius XI declared in Quas Primas, “the State must leave the same freedom to the members of Orders and Congregations, both male and female, who are indeed the most valiant helpers of the Pastors of the Church and contribute most to the expansion and establishment of Christ’s Kingdom.” The American model, by contrast, subordinates the Church to the secular state and reduces religion to a private matter.
The article’s implicit endorsement of the American model as a source of papal leadership is a tacit admission that the conciliar sect has fully embraced the principles of modern liberalism. This is not a new development; it is the logical culmination of the modernist revolution that has been underway since the early 20th century. The election of Leo XIV, with his American background and his celebration of ethnic diversity, is merely the latest manifestation of this apostasy.
The Blasphemous Claim of “Healing”
The article’s subtitle, “Pope Leo XIV and His Plan to Heal the Church,” is a blasphemous claim that only Christ can heal His Church. The Church does not need “healing” from a human pontiff; she needs a return to the unchanging doctrines and practices of the faith. The wounds inflicted on the Church by the conciliar revolution can only be healed by a radical rejection of modernism and a return to the integral Catholic faith as taught by the Fathers, the Councils, and the pre-conciliar Magisterium.
The “healing” proposed by Leo XIV and his admirers is not a return to truth but rather a further entrenchment of error. It is a “healing” that consists in making the faithful comfortable with heresy, in reconciling the Church with the world, and in transforming the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass into a mere communal celebration. This is not healing; it is the final stage of a terminal illness.
Conclusion: The Abomination of Desolation Continues
The election of Leo XIV and the celebration of his ethnic diversity by the conciliar sect is a stark reminder of the depth of the current crisis in the Church. The post-conciliar structures have become a parody of the true Church, a “synagogue of Satan” (Apocalypse 2:9) that promotes error and suppresses the truth. The faithful must not be deceived by the superficial attractions of diversity and inclusivity; they must remain steadfast in the unchanging faith of the Church, as taught by the true Magisterium and the saints.
As Pope Pius IX warned in the Syllabus of Errors, “the Roman Pontiff can, and ought to, reconcile himself, and come to terms with progress, liberalism and modern civilization” (proposition 80). This is precisely what Leo XIV and the conciliar sect are doing. The faithful must reject this false reconciliation and cling to the immutable Tradition of the Church, which alone can lead them to salvation. Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus – outside the true Church, there is no salvation. And the true Church is not the conciliar sect with its “pope” in Rome, but the Church of all ages, founded by Christ, guided by the Holy Ghost, and preserved in the deposit of faith until the end of time.
Source:
A Pope Who’s American — and Everything Else (ncregister.com)
Date: 08.05.2026