The messages shared by Leo XIV about abortion and gender ideology on Twitter

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected Pope yesterday under the name Leo XIV, and some are already putting labels on him.

Robert Francis Prevost becomes the first US Pope as Leo XIV
Pope Francis' criticism of abortion, euthanasia, and gender ideology

In the last few hours, not even a day after his election, I've read internet users in several languages ​​saying that Leo XIV is a "woke Pope", that is, one with progressive or left-wing ideas. These claims may have their origin in the assessments made by some media outlets. Let's keep in mind that the election of the new Pope has generated an avalanche of information, not all of it reliable.

Personally, I encourage those of you who are Catholic to pray for the new Pope, who has a difficult task ahead of him (like all those who came before him), and also to wait and exercise a little prudence before expressing an opinion. The latter also applies to those who are not Catholic or even believers. Expressing an opinion without knowledge has become an increasingly common practice, something I find regrettable.

These days, getting information about someone is easy, and even more so if that person is publicly active, like Cardinal Prevost has been up to now. To get an idea about him, just look at his personal Twitter account, @drprevost, which he opened in August 2011 and last updated on April 15, 2025. I took a little time and went through the messages he has posted and shared over these 14 years. It wasn't a difficult task, as he hasn't posted much in that time: 439 posts, many of which were sharing what others had posted.

Significantly, the vast majority of his Twitter posts are in Spanish, as the Pope holds dual US and Peruvian nationality and has spent much of his ecclesiastical life in Peru. He is a man who writes few messages and with little text. What I have seen on his account is a person who is very sparing with words, something very different from the talkative nature of Pope Francis. Furthermore, there are posts on his account that do not fit in the least with the "woke" label that some are attributing to him.

I will limit myself to pointing out those that deal with two of the main battlegrounds of the left: abortion and gender ideology, both of which are rejected by the Catholic Church outright. Pope Francis also rejected them during his pontificate, although some media outlets overlooked those messages.

A Catholic News Agency post from April 2, 2017, shared by Robert Prevost. The text reads: "What happens when babies survive abortion? A doctor's alarming response." The linked news story alleged that abortion centers allow children to die who have survived attempts to kill them in the womb.

A post from the Peruvian newspaper La República on March 11, 2017 that was shared by Robert Prevost, announcing a pro-life march planned for March 25 of that year in Peru.

A January 29, 2017, Catholic News Agency post that was shared by Robert Prevost. The linked news story is titled: "Pence to pro-lifers: Win hearts with compassion and love". The then-vice president of the United States made the remarks at a pro-life march two days earlier.

Another post from the Catholic News Agency on January 29, 2017 that was shared by Robert Prevost. It links to a news story about Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, with this title: "Abortion undermines everyone's human rights".

Two publications from December 28 and 29, 2016, the first by ACI Prensa and the second by the Peruvian newspaper La República, collecting statements by the then Archbishop of Trujillo, Miguel Cabrejos, and Cardinal Gerhard Müller rejecting that ideology.

A November 12, 2016, Catholic News Agency post, shared by Robert Prevost on his Twitter account. The post, in English, states: "Clinton ignored pro-lifers at her own peril, Democrats say." The linked news story, written by Matt Hadro, stated: "In the wake of Hillary Clinton's electoral defeat in Tuesday's presidential election, pro-life Democrats and faith voters criticized the party's pro-abortion support and lack of religious outreach."

A message in Spanish from Robert Prevost published on March 21, 2015, when he was Apostolic Administrator of Chiclayo, Peru. The photo shows a march in defense of unborn children with this text: "March for life in Chiclayo. Let us defend human life at all times!"

A post shared by Robert Prevost in July 2014. As seen in this screenshot, the original post, in Spanish, was from May 2013 and was the work of Mexican journalist María Rojo de la Vega. In the image, in English, we see the word "abortion" with the D and P crossed out to form the word "adoption". This is a very common pro-life meme to promote giving babies up for adoption instead of killing them in the womb.