Does the Jubilee Story Reveal Pope Leo XIV's Progressive Trajectory?

Why sober judgement matters more than ever as activists, commentators and partisan outlets race to define a pope before the facts are even known

There are moments when the Catholic world seems determined to prove how quickly a narrative can harden into certainty. The Jubilee of the Poor, held in Rome on 16 November, has become one of those moments. Long before the pilgrims and the homeless and the volunteers had finished their coffee, headlines were already ricocheting around the internet, feeding the appetites of those who see Pope Leo XIV as either a liberal revolutionary or a closet reactionary, depending on the preferred echo chamber.

The spark this time was the claim, repeated with mounting confidence, that the Pope had chosen to dine with a group of transgender activists. LifeSiteNews carried the headline; the story was quickly amplified by commentators who treat every papal gesture as proof of an unfolding ideological saga. Within hours the claim had become a symbol: Pope Leo, they said, was continuing Francis’ legacy of doctrinal chaos, ecclesiological confusion and progressive rupture from the pre-conciliar Church. Many of those circulating the story were already convinced of its meaning before they had even established its truth.

The first task, then, is clarity.