Pope Leo XIV in South America: Limited empathy

Pope Leo XIV did not give in to Argentine President Javier Milei. The political messages the Pope proclaimed during his four-day visit to Argentina were the classic principles of Catholic social teaching: social justice, the fight against poverty, respect and dialogue instead of political confrontation. In the presence of Milei, he called for an economy that serves the people. This message takes on a supposed political explosiveness against the background of the Argentine president's libertarian radical approach, but it is precisely this that the bishops and priests on the Río de la Plata have vehemently opposed.

Where Pope Leo XIV did criticize the president was in the field of empathy. His visit to a prison, his encounters with informal workers and, above all, his appearance in a facility for the disabled triggered moving moments. It was the concrete gestures of affection that gave this visit its real impact; they were balm for many Argentines. They will remain permanently in people's emotional memory and will cause severe problems for Milei, who lacks empathy.

However, Pope Leo XIV is also a traveling salesman on behalf of an institution whose message is not only characterized by mercy and care. His business model is the path to eternal salvation, but with the premise that Christ is the only Savior. This is what it says in the document of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith of September 16, 2026, in which the Catholic Church once again asserts its exclusive claim to the proclamation of the only true faith.

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Under his predecessor, Pope Francis, this was less dogmatically pointed. The current pope can treat people with empathy and at the same time hold on to a theological claim to truth that leaves little room for other religions. His empathy obviously reaches its limits when it comes to interpreting sovereignty over faith.