The new pope has issued a ‘menacing’ message when asked about the United States, and social media users are speculating about what it means.
It has been mere weeks since Pope Francis passed away on 21 April, and his replacement was chosen by the cardinals last week.
Since then, people have been very interested in what Pope Leo thinks about the US, particularly about Donald Trump.
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As the first-ever American pope, he has already broken a major tradition by speaking English at his first mass on 9 May, and raised eyebrows with retweets he has previously shared.
Pope Leo, born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, was elected as the 267th pontiff and the 69-year-old partook in his first mass where the world watched and listened to his singing voice and notable Chicago accent.
His controversial English speech led to social media users sharing their shock online, with one person writing: "The new Pope speaking in English with an American accent!!! What a jolt for me."
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As an American, you’d think he would be patriotic, right?
Perhaps not.
On Monday (12 May), Pope Leo was asked by NewsNation correspondent Robert Sherman if he had 'any message for the United States'.
His reply was one word: “Many," before adding: "God bless you all."
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Many believe this is a sign he’s going to hit the US with an immeasurable amount of criticism, with one person writing: "This is the most menacing thing I've seen a pope say in my entire life."
Another wrote: “This wasn’t a message this was a warning disguised as a blessing and I’m shook.”
Someone else shared: “Pope Leo really just dropped the coldest mic ever and left the world guessing.”
It comes as Pope Leo's previous social media usage has revealed his politics do not quite align with that of President Trump.
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Upon learning of the news of the new pope, Trump posted: "To have the pope from the United States of America, that's a great honour."
But Pope Leo has long been a critic of the US president and his administration.
In February, it was found that he had re-posted an article titled 'JD Vance is wrong: Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others.'
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Then in April, after Trump's meeting with El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, about deporting and jailing US citizens abroad, Pope Leo re-posted a comment that included: "Do you not see the suffering? Is your conscience not disturbed?"
One post he reshared from Cardinal Blase J. Cupich in 2018 read: “There is nothing remotely Christian, American, or morally defensible about a policy that takes children away from their parents and warehouses them in cages. This is being carried out in our name and the shame is on us all.”
We'll have to wait and see if Pope Leo will explicitly criticise the Trump administration now he is pope.
Topics: Donald Trump, Pope Leo, Pope Francis, US News, Politics, Social Media
Britt Jones