As this issue goes to press, just over a month has passed since Robert Francis Prevost was elected pope, taking the name Leo. While it is certainly too early to ascertain the precise direction this pontificate will chart for the life of the church and its engagement with the world, the absence of certainty has done little to quell the widespread tide of speculation. Indeed, almost immediately following Pope Leo XIV’s introduction shortly after noon on May 8, 2025 from the iconic balcony overlooking St. Peter’s Square, ecclesial observers and pundits began meticulously scrutinizing every facet of his past and present ministry.