When Pope Francis died last year, President Trump posted a meme of himself in papal garb, and a month later declared it a great honor when the College of Cardinals selected the first ever

U.S. born pontiff. But if the president initially imagined Pope Leo the 14th would grant

Vatican endorsement of everything the White House tried to do in the world, that fantasy was quickly

deflated. From KERA in Dallas, this is think. I'm Chris Boyd.

By April of this year, President Trump took to social media to blast Leo as weak on crime and terrible for foreign policy, to which the Pope responded in part, blessed are the peacemakers.

One big question, as my guest will explore with us, is whether American Catholics will take sides and, if so, where they are likely to land.

Victor Gaetan is Senior International correspondent for the National Catholic Register and the author of God's Diplomats, Pope Francis, Vatican Diplomacy, and America's Armageddon.

His article for Foreign Affairs is titled The Not So Quiet American.

Victor, welcome to think. Thank you. Thank you, Chris.

You remind us that Pope Leo kept a fairly low profile in the immediate aftermath of his election.

Is that customary for a new Pope to sort of take a breath and maybe figure out what sort of focus he wants to take? Right. Thank you for the question. Chris. Let me begin with the election of an American pope. How unexpected and surprising the election of an American to become the leader of the Universal Church,

counting 1,400 million Catholics.

Even the clergy, the different people, the insiders were not expecting the election of an American.

Why?

One reason is that an American would have been perceived as exposed to influence for the American government from the powerful American hegemon.

So because of that, Robert Prevot country of birth, the United States and his American citizenship, were de-emphasized

following, during and following the election.

He was referred to mostly as the Latin American missionary priest, although he had both, he has both United States and Peruvian citizenship.

But then I would take a look at the qualities, the qualifications that Father Robert Prevaux has for the position

of to lead the Catholic Church. As we look at his resume, he has a perfect CV for the job. He spent 11 years in

Peru as a missionary at a time when there was a civil war, the shining path was devastating the country, as well as the

then authoritarian government in response to the violence, to the acts of terrorism, has implemented many measures of recent acts of violence.

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