Catholics for Catholics CEO John Yep told Newsmax Thursday that whether Pope Leo XIV has spoken out about controversial issues before as some reports have indicated, his record as the Pope "starts right now."
The first American Pope in the Catholic Church's nearly 2,000-year history was elected Thursday afternoon on the fourth ballot, to the surprise of many who were expecting a different outcome due to the long-standing taboo of a Pope from the United States.
A New York Times report from last week suggested that while serving as a bishop in Peru, Leo opposed a government plan to add teachings on gender in schools.
"I think that's a benefit. That's a plus," Yep told "American Agenda." "So if he has come out strongly on those issues, especially gender ideology, that's a blessing, right? We absolutely need moral clarity on that issue.
"I've seen that he's done some tweeting, retweeting about the whole George Floyd protest. He was really leaning into that before."
"So his record, whatever his record was, it's what his record starts right now. He's the Holy Father, and he needs our prayers. And we need absolute, strong leadership," he said.
"On one hand, you can say, Well, he hasn't spoken up about controversial issues; therefore, he must be good. Not necessarily. Jesus Christ himself was not afraid of controversy when it called for it."
Having served in the Vatican for 26 years, Monsignor Hilary Franco, permanent mission of the Holy See, said that this week's conclave was the sixth that he had witnessed and he was very excited about the election of an American to the papacy.
"I'm here and I'm so happy that I'm in Rome, in the Vatican, in order to see what is really happening," Franco said. "It looks like that was really something that I had said so many times these days in very several kind of networks.
"I said this is going to be a very quick conclave. And everyone said, 'Well, there are so many cardinals; 133 cardinals will not get together.' But this is a sign of the unity of the church.
"My dear friends, this is really a great sign. In such a short time, we have a new Pope — in America for the first time," he said.
"Finally, we have an American who has a missionary spirit because he has been a missionary for 40 years, a man who really knows the Americas because he was in South America. As you do know, he was a bishop there."
GET TODAY NEWSMAX+:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America with more than 30 million people watching!
Reuters Institute reports NEWSMAX is one of the top news brands in the U.S.
You need to watch NEWSMAX today.
Get it with great shows from Rob Schmitt, Greta Van Susteren, Greg Kelly, Carl Higbie, Rob Finnerty – and many more!
Find the NEWSMAX channel on your cable system – Go Here Now
BEST OFFER:
Sign up for NEWSMAX+ and get NEWSMAX, our streaming channel NEWSMAX2 and our military channel World at War.
Find hundreds of shows, movies and specials.
Even get Jon Voight's special series and President Trump's comedy programs and much more!
Watch NEWSMAX+ on your smartphone or home TV app.
Watch NEWSMAX anytime, anywhere!
Start your FREE trial now: NewsmaxPlus.com
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.