{"id":2115,"date":"2025-05-14T10:39:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T08:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vaticanfiles.org\/?p=2115"},"modified":"2025-05-14T10:39:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T08:39:10","slug":"vf241","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vaticanfiles.org\/es\/2025\/05\/vf241\/","title":{"rendered":"241. The clever move of Leo XIV. Five factors of attraction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Not a castling move, and not a simple sidestep\u2014but a knight\u2019s move. In chess terms, that\u2019s how we might describe Operation Leo XIV: unexpected, strategic, and game-changing.
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Those who expected a castling move\u2014the defensive, conservative strategy that retreats under pressure\u2014have been caught off guard by the conclave\u2019s decision. Prevost is not the embodiment of the traditionalist and restorative Catholicism that certain sectors of the Church of Rome were hoping for. Appointed cardinal by Pope Francis and entrusted with selecting bishops from around the world, Prevost is very much a product of the Bergoglian papacy and aligned with its vision. No rollback or U-turn reversal of the major reforms initiated by the Argentine pope is anticipated.
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Those anticipating a lateral, diplomatic, wait-and-see approach were also surprised. Among the likely candidates, Cardinal Parolin personified that option: a seasoned diplomat and former Vatican Secretary of State, seen as the favorite to ease tensions, stabilize factions, and buy time for future decisions. His election would have signaled a pause\u2014an effort to cool tempers and calm the chaos stirred by the Francis era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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But the choice of Leo XIV signals something else entirely. Prevost, still under 70, is a \u201cyoung\u201d pope with the possibility of a long pontificate. This was not a caretaker decision. The conclave didn\u2019t choose a bridge\u2014it chose direction.
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In chess terms, the election of Leo XIV was a knight\u2019s move: surprising, indirect, coming from the rear, and disrupting the board in ways that force everyone to rethink their position. The game has changed.
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In the meantime, he is\u00a0American<\/em><\/strong>. Until now, there seemed to be an unwritten rule: the Church of Rome would not elect a pope from a global economic superpower. But with this conclave, that unwritten rule has been broken. The election of Leo XIV shows a mindset liberated from 20th-century geopolitical categories. The majority of cardinals who voted for him came from the Global South\u2014Asia and Africa\u2014demonstrating that the College of Cardinals no longer sees the world through a strictly Western lens.
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His American identity serves at least two strategic purposes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n