'Unarmed and Disarming Peace', Fabio Zavattaro on Leo XIV

Cardinal Reina signs the preface: "The book is an invitation to listen to the new Pope's teaching."

When he first appeared before the faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square, he began with a greeting of peace, the peace of the "Risen Christ, a disarmed and disarming peace, humble and persevering" that "comes from God." These words could already provide a clue to the direction of the pontificate of Robert Francis Prevost, chosen as Francis's successor and elected the 267th Pontiff of the Catholic Church. Leo XIV was the surprise of the Conclave. This fact emerges in the essay that Fabio Zavattaro —a Vatican correspondent and correspondent for Tg1 since 1995, who has covered the pontificates of John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and part of Francis—dedicates to the figure of the new Pope and the challenges he will face as he addresses the issues that have thus far animated Leo XIV's agenda. "Disarmed and disarming peace. Pope Leo XIV, life and choices' (published by 'Il Pozzo di Giacobbe') is an "invitation - states Cardinal Baldassarre Reina, the Pope's vicar for the diocese of Rome, in the preface - to listen carefully to the Magisterium of Pope Leo XIV and to hear in his words the echo of that Word which is always alive and effective, the only one capable of changing hearts and directing them towards the highest Good".

The first Pope from North America , Leo XIV, a missionary and bishop in Peru for forty years, was born on September 14, 1955. The 133 cardinal electors called him to lead the Church at a time when the world is marked by what Pope Bergoglio called a piecemeal Third World War. Zavattaro examines Leo XIV's first gestures and words to understand what his pontificate will be like, starting with the great theme of peace; how he will address issues of ecumenical and interreligious dialogue; and what his relations will be with the United States, where he has already had disagreements with the president and vice president, and where he is considered the least American of the American cardinals . At the heart of the essay—the beginning of a journey to get to know Leo XIV and to discover some small curiosities—also emerges the Pontiff's concern for migrants, the global South, and poverty.