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Pope Leo XIV has voted by mail for the midterm elections in the United States, an unprecedented gesture as it is the first time a pontiff is known to have exercised this right, which also opens a debate about the neutrality of a head of state who is the leader of the Catholic Church.
The news, first reported by the American media outlet Chicago Sun-Times, was confirmed this Friday by the Vatican press office in a note explaining that Robert Prevost, born in Chicago (USA), "exercised his right to vote as a US citizen whenever he had the opportunity to do so" and "in keeping with this established practice of civic participation, sent his ballot by mail to Chicago" for the November 3rd elections.
"The Holy Father expresses his conviction regarding the right and duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes," adds the statement from the Vatican press office, which also explains that Robert Prevost also exercised his right to vote in elections in Peru, a country where he is also a naturalized citizen having lived there for twenty years as a missionary and bishop of Chiclayo.
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Leo XIV's vote in these elections is unprecedented in the history of the papacy: it was never known that the Pole John Paul II, the German Benedict XVI, or the Argentine Francis participated in the elections of their respective countries of origin.
So much so that surprise has given way to debate and questions about whether the head of a state like the Vatican and leader of the Catholic religion should break his neutrality and cast his vote as a United States citizen.
Christopher Hale, author of the Catholic blog 'Leo's Letters', 2020 congressional candidate for rural Tennessee, and delegate to the Democratic National Committee, states on X that "Leo XIV is acting as a priest and bishop who takes the Church's teaching on citizenship seriously. The Church teaches us that we are morally obligated to vote."
"The Catholic Church teaches that the faithful have a moral obligation to vote. Join Pope Leo XIV and commit to participating in the most sacred act of democracy: voting in this year's midterm elections," wrote Hale, who was also a member of the Obama-Biden campaign.
Massimo Faggioli, an Italian professor of the history of Christianity at Villanova University (United States), considered on social media that it "was not a good thing" to know that the Pope had voted.
"The game of 'in the midterm elections, the Pope voted for my party,' 'no, the Pope voted for the other party' has already begun. A predictable and avoidable game, in my humble opinion," he stated.
Robert Francis Prevost is on the list of people who requested to vote by mail in the upcoming elections, according to the chief of staff for the Will County clerk's office, Kim Fladhammer, in the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper.
According to this outlet, the pontiff made the request from the Vatican on October 3rd, exactly one month before the elections. Prevost is registered in the Illinois electoral census, as he has his address registered in New Lenox, at his brother's house.
These elections will decide who will occupy the seat left by outgoing Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, in addition to the seats for the House of Representatives and the governorship, and he can also participate in judicial elections and for Will County offices.
According to records reviewed by the Chicago Sun-Times, Prevost voted in the 2012, 2014, and 2016 Republican primaries, as well as in the 2012, 2014, 2018, and 2024 general elections. He also participated in the 2008 and 2010 Democratic primaries. He did not vote in the Illinois primaries held in March, according to the newspaper.
In that Midwestern state, voters are not required to register under a specific party affiliation and can choose the party for which they wish to receive their ballot in the primaries.
The Pope's vote comes in a year in which his differences with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, have been notable regarding issues such as immigration policies or the war in Iran.
The Pope has openly criticized the military offensive launched by the US and Israel against the Islamic republic on February 28th and asserted that no one can prevent him from continuing to criticize the war, while Trump has gone as far as to say that Leo XIV puts "many Catholics and many people in danger" because, if it were up to him, "it would be okay for Iran to have a nuclear weapon."
[Publicidad]