Pope Leo XIV: An evangelical view

The Roman Catholic Church has its new Pope - the 267th according to its official list.

The number is less than obvious because it assumes that Peter was the first Pope (he was not) and that there were monarchical Popes thereafter (the practice became standard only at the end of the second century).

Having said that, the election of Robert Francis Prevost (Leo XIV) came as a bit of a surprise, not because he was unknown to those inside the church or in the world, but because of his American origins. Up to now, the Roman Catholic Church thought of itself as a counter-balancing power with regards to world powers.