Social and political issues
Within the context of church politics and theology, Prevost has been seen as a moderate or centrist, neither liberal nor conservative. In April 2025, the Italian newspaper la Repubblica stated that Prevost was seen as a "cosmopolitan and shy figure" who was "appreciated by conservatives and progressives" within the church.
Leo has consistently advocated against armed conflict. Prior to his papacy, in Chiclayo, Prevost remained relatively politically neutral on Peruvian national issues. However, in the midst of the Peruvian protests in 2023, he stated: "The deaths during the protests cause me great sadness and pain [...] I asked to stay in Peru; I even made that request to the Holy Father. It wasn't the time to leave." He has also expressed support for the plight of Venezuelan refugees in Peru.
He denounced the Russian invasion of Ukraine, describing it as a "senseless war", and appealing to Russian leaders to end the conflict. In one of his first major speeches as pope, Leo called for a ceasefire in the Gaza war. Following the Israeli strikes on Iran in June 2025, he urged Iranian and Israeli authorities to act with "reason". He has issued prayers for those affected by the clashes in southern Syria and the 2025 Cambodia–Thailand clashes. He called for a ceasefire and humanitarian aid following the El Fasher massacre in Sudan. He has criticized the United States' military strikes near Venezuela. Leo has also expressed concern regarding the intensification of violence in Syria and in Iran, calling for dialogue and peace.
In his Pentecost homily soon after his election as pope, Leo criticized the "exclusionary mindset" displayed by various nationalist movements. The Holy Spirit "breaks down barriers and tears down the walls of indifference and hatred", he said. To Leo, areas advertised as "security zones" had the effect of "separating us from our neighbors" and spreading "prejudice". He proclaimed that the church needed to "open the borders between peoples and break down the barriers between class and race." The pope has also spoken with sympathy for migrants, hoping to visit the Canary Islands where many migrants enter Europe. Leo has also defended the right of nations to control immigration, stating "If someone is in the United States illegally, there are ways to address this. There are courts. There is a judicial system....I think every country has the right to determine who enters, how, and when." Additionally, Leo has stated that migrants are obligated to culturally assimilate in a new country, including by learning the official language, following local customs, and obeying the law.
The pope has repeatedly expressed criticism and concern about the treatment of migrants in the United States, particularly in facilities operated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). In September 2025, he reiterated past criticisms of the second Trump administration, remarking to a group of journalists that "someone who says 'I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States,' I don't know if that's pro-life." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt denied Leo's claims of maltreatment. That October, Leo urged labor unions in his home city of Chicago to fight for immigrants' rights. In November, he called for a "deep reflection" about American immigration policy and asked that detainees' "spiritual rights" be upheld via access to clergy.
Leo's positions on abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty are consistent with Catholic Church teachings. He has issued anti-abortion statements during his pontificate.
Leo has opposed euthanasia. He expressed caution against the euthanasia policy in Canada. He said that euthanasia, along with abortion, "discard the weakest", and disregard the value of life. He has also stated "We cannot build a just society if we discard the weakest—whether the child in the womb or the elderly in their frailty—for they are both gifts from God." In December 2025, Leo said he was "very disappointed" that his home state of Illinois approved a bill allowing for medically assisted suicide. He said he had spoken with Governor JB Pritzker and urged him to not sign the bill into law.
Leo opposes the death penalty. In October 2025, he stated, "Someone who says, 'I'm against abortion but says I am in favor of the death penalty' is not really pro-life."
Leo has specifically called out violence against women. He has condemned femicide, calling it both painful and tragic and attributing it to "an unhealthy desire for domination."
Prevost expressed reservations about "sympathy for beliefs and practices that contradict the gospel" and did not fully endorse or reject Fiducia supplicans, a declaration concerning blessings for people in a same-sex relationship. He stated that national bishops' conferences should "interpret and apply such directives in their local contexts, given cultural differences." On a flight to Rome after a visit to African countries, Pope Leo praised Francis' approach to the topic but opposed formalizing the blessings. Referring to "sexual matters", Leo said he believes there are "more important issues such as justice, equality, freedom of men and women, freedom of religion that would all take priority before that particular issue."
In 2012, Prevost criticized popular culture's sympathy for the "homosexual lifestyle" and same-sex families. In April 2016, he opposed the inclusion of "gender ideology" in Peruvian primary school curricula, stating, "There are men and women, and we must respect the dignity of each person, including the choices that adults may have. Telling a child that they have not yet reached a sufficient level of development to choose regarding sexual identity and orientation will create a lot of confusion". When asked in 2023 by Catholic News Service whether his views from 2012 had changed, Prevost said that "many things have changed" and emphasized the church should be more open and welcoming though he cautioned that church doctrine has not changed.
In May 2025, Leo said that it was up to governments to build peaceful societies "above all by investing in the family, founded upon the stable union between a man and a woman." In September 2025, Leo allegedly told the priest James J. Martin, an advocate for greater LGBTQ+ inclusion in the church, that he would continue Francis' legacy of welcoming LGBTQ+ people into the church, with Martin telling the Associated Press that their discussion "was very consoling and very encouraging and frankly a lot of fun." In February 2026, Leo spoke on same-sex marriage and transgender rights by stating, "The teaching of the Church will continue to remain as it is". Leo met representatives of Courage International, a Catholic ministry for LGBTQ Catholics on 6 February 2026. The group said on the occasion: "The opportunity to share with the Holy Father the works of the apostolate, to provide pastoral accompaniment to persons who experience same-sex attraction but who strive to live chaste lives or to accompany family members who have a loved one who identifies as LGBTQ, was a momentous occasion".
Throughout his time as a bishop and as a cardinal, Prevost continued to vote in both state and federal elections in the United States, being a registered voter in Will County, Illinois. Illinois election law does not require voters to register affiliation with a political party, and Prevost has never officially done so. The elections Prevost has voted in include the 2008 Democratic presidential primary, the Democratic primary for the 2010 Illinois gubernatorial election, the 2012 Republican presidential primary, the Republican primary for the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election, the 2016 Republican presidential primary, and the 2024 United States general election.
On the social media platform X, Prevost's former account reposted posts critical of US immigration policies under President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. The pope has supported various gun control measures. In 2025, Leo denounced what he called a "pandemic of arms" after the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting. His X account which he used prior to his election as pope has since been deleted and he is currently using the official @Pontifex handle, inherited from Popes Benedict XVI and Francis.
In April 2026, amidst the 2026 Iran war, Leo said that Donald Trump's threats against Iranian civilization and infrastructure were "truly unacceptable" and encouraged people to contact political leaders and members of Congress to "tell them to work for peace and to reject war." Trump subsequently directly criticized him in a Truth Social post, writing that "Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy". He also referred to the pope as "too liberal." Leo responded, stating that "I have no fear of the Trump administration," and cited being a peacekeeper as a message of the Gospel.
With regards to climate change, the pope has advocated stronger church action, stating in a November 2024 seminar that "dominion over nature" should not be "tyrannical". He called for environmental protection, supporting the installation of solar panels and electric vehicles. His stance is consistent with his predecessor's environmental advocacy outlined in Laudato si'. Shortly after his election in 2025, he praised the document and said that it was "even more relevant today", ten years after it was written.
Leo XIV is critical of emerging "artificial intelligence" technologies, calling them an "anthropological challenge". He has warned that the technology can "interfere with information ecosystems." He has stated that he believes a more profound risk is that, in mimicking human faces and voices, the technology encroaches "upon the deepest level of communication, that of human relationships." He has stated that using technology instead of humanity to create texts, music, and videos will reduce people into "passive consumers of unthought thoughts and anonymous products without ownership or love" and "[bury] the talents we have been given".
As Pope, he refused to give official sanction for an AI replica of himself intended to answer questions about the Catholic faith, saying, "If there's anybody who should not be represented by an avatar, I would say the pope is high on the list." He has said that artificial intelligence "will never be able to share faith" and that seeking "illusion on the internet, on TikTok" cannot replace an authentic spiritual connection. He asked the clergy of the Diocese of Rome to resist "the temptation to prepare homilies with artificial intelligence."
Leo's first encyclical, Magnifica humanitas, dealt with these matters in depth. In it, he said that "artificial intelligences do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain, do not mature through relationships...nor do they have a moral conscience...a form of statistical adaptation...does not imply inner growth."
