Pope Leo XIV and the Challenge to Confront the Moral Collapse of the Digital Age

The last 40 years have presented a challenge to the successors of St. Peter. Our new pope is not far from a lurking challenge that will await him, which will be greater than what the last three popes confronted during their time as Holy Father.

St. John Paul the Great went toe to toe with communism as he led the Catholic Church to triumph over the violent and barbaric ideology. He would work with leaders of the world to destroy the Iron Curtain without firing a shot or missile. His papacy reminds us to face the world’s brokenness with mercy and courage.

When Pope Benedict XVI led the church following the death of St. John Paul the Great against the rising tide of relativism, he defended the Church’s intellectual foundations with humility and brilliance. He wrote in Caritas in Veritate (“Charity in Truth”) that  “to defend the truth, to articulate it with humility and conviction, and to bear witness to it in life are exacting and indispensable forms of charity.”

Pope Francis led the Catholic Church through violence, division, and indifference, calling the world to encounter one another as it chose isolation. Through his encyclical Fratelli Tutti (“All Brothers”), he confronted the divisions and tribalism that characterize our era, calling us back to the dignity of encounter. Dialogue was seen as a strength, as genuine engagement triumphs over fear.

Pope Leo XIV now faces a quieter challenge, having been pope for a month: moral collapse. This is brought about from spiritual decay through much confusion from those who don’t preach the faith with truth. They preach just so people can be appeased.

The church is in the midst of a crisis of clarity and conviction. Far too many Catholics aren’t living their faith. The pews are nearly empty every Sunday. Sadly, many families are not living out the faith their grandparents were once brought into as infants.  

Pope Leo XIV must take up the gauntlet with steadfast boldness. He must embrace it with a fundamentally pastoral, intellectual, and prophetic. The faithful must make their faith public, not private, and Pope Leo XIV’s is to redeem the spirit that must renew the church.

Please pray for the pope to have the diligence and courage to preach the faith with clarity and mercy.