Pope Leo XIV "couched everything or contextualized everything in the notion of hope" during his inaugural mass, Father Patrick Flanagan, the chair of the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at Saint John's University said in an interview.
"It's a new beginning. It's a new day. No matter what we believe happened during the last 12 years, during Pope Francis, this Pope is a man who is very much self-aware and very much confident," Flanagan told Newsmax's "National Report."
"He's a smart man. He's a strategic man, and he wants to bring hope to a broken church and a fractured world. And there's a great deal of newness and freshness in that, in that beginning."
Pope Leo XIV opted to wear a red cape, the Musetta, as well as the stole, which signifies "that he wants to be connected to the past, yes, but he also wants to move forward with a firm foundation in tradition," said Flanagan.
"And I think that's why he was very clear over these past few days to be very, very straightforward and say, this is what we believe as Roman Catholic Church with regards to what we believe is marriage, what we believe is family, what we believe as the importance of life without abortion," he added.
Pope Leo XIV came out right at the start of his pontificate "and made it extraordinarily clear of what the church believes," Flanagan said.
"Now, this is nothing new. Pope Francis said this a couple of times, but people wanted to hear more from Pope Francis, more clarity. They wanted to hear more often. And right at the start of Pope Leo's pontificate, we're hearing it very straightforward what the church believes, what the church doesn't believe."
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
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.