Inside the election of the first American pope

On this episode, The Washington Post’s Libby Casey, Rhonda Colvin and James Hohmann are joined by religion reporter Michelle Boorstein and Rome bureau chief Anthony Faiola to discuss the papal conclave and the election of the first American pope, Leo XIV.

The crew breaks down the process the cardinals followed, then dives into the politics of the conclave: How cardinals make themselves candidates, and how they try to elevate their positions behind the scenes while adhering to the strict traditions surrounding the process.

And finally, the crew breaks down whether the cardinals take American politics, or world politics, into account at all when choosing a new leader for the Catholic Church.

00:00 Intro
00:58 What we know about Robert Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV
06:37 The scene in Vatican City during the conclave
10:47 How reporters actually get details on the secret process
15:26 Inside the internal politics of the cardinals
17:21 How much change will there be with a new pope?
19:55 The politics of choosing an American pope
24:39 What the choice says about the Catholic Church’s future

Follow more of The Washington Post’s coverage of the new pope here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/05/08/conclave-vote-pope-news-results/

Author: Washington Post
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News post in at: May 9, 2025, 6:01 am.

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