Holy Smoke: it’s time for Pope Leo XIV to make some tough decisions
Best of the Spectator
The Spectator
4.4 • 785 Ratings
🗓️ 1 July 2025
⏱️ 13 minutes
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Summary
Nearly everyone loves Robert Prevost, the unassuming baseball fan from Chicago who unexpectedly became Pope Leo XIV this year. But as he prepares to spend his summer in Castel Gandolfo he has some difficult decisions to make. Is he prepared to clear up all the doctrinal confusion created by his predecessor Pope Francis? And will he allow liberal bishop to continue to persecute Catholics who prefer the ancient Latin form of Mass?
Damian Thompson gives us his thoughts in advance of Recovering the Sacred, a Spectator event at St Bartholomew-the-Great in the City of London on July 8 featuring debate and sacred music illustrating the recovery of tradition by a new generation of Christians. For tickets and more information, go to spectator.co.uk/church.
Produced by Patrick Gibbons.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Young Christians are flocking to traditional Anglican and Catholic services, embracing solemnity and |
| 0:05.6 | mysticism. But why is this happening? And could we be on the verge of an unexpected recovery of the |
| 0:10.8 | sacred? To discuss this further, the spectator would like to invite you to a special evening |
| 0:15.4 | taking place at the glorious and beautifully lit surroundings of St. Bartholomew the Great, the oldest |
| 0:20.3 | parish church in the city of London. Bartholomew the Great, the oldest parish church in |
| 0:21.2 | the city of London. This unique gathering includes speakers such as the editor of the spectator |
| 0:26.3 | Michael Gove, the rector of St. Bards, the Reverend Marcus Walker, the Oxford Regis Professor of |
| 0:31.3 | Divinity, Professor Andrew Davidson, and the host of this podcast, Damien Thompson, joined by the |
| 0:36.7 | renowned choir of St Bartz. |
| 0:38.4 | The event is taking place on Tuesday, July 8th, and for tickets and more information, |
| 0:43.2 | go to spectator.com.uk, forward slash church. |
| 0:59.0 | Welcome to Holy Smoke, the Spectator's Religion podcast. |
| 1:00.7 | I'm Damien Thompson. |
| 1:10.8 | This week we're going to be taking a quick look at what we know about Pope Leo the 14th so far, just a couple of months into his |
| 1:12.5 | pontificate. And I hope that maybe some of the points I raise could come in useful if you're |
| 1:18.9 | planning to attend a very exciting event, recovering the sacred. That's on Wednesday, July |
| 1:24.2 | the 8th, that the spectator is holding in the glorious setting of the Church of St. Bartholomeo the Great |
| 1:29.2 | in the city of London. |
| 1:30.9 | Tickets are selling out fast, |
| 1:32.1 | so go on to the Spectator website |
| 1:33.6 | and book your tickets now. |
| 1:37.7 | So, Pope Leo XIV, is heading off on his summer holidays. |
... |
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