Commentators were quick to assess the political fallout of Robert Francis Prevost’s election to become the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. Does Pope Leo XIV’s public criticism of Vice President JD Vance’s views on immigration indicate a hostile stance toward MAGA? Were his ornate vestments a nod to traditional American Catholics alienated by the Francis papacy? Will he be a climate change crusader like his predecessor, as his past comments indicate? 

All of this will be answered in time. What can be said following the papal funeral and the conclave is that reports of religion’s demise were greatly exaggerated. Indeed, the Catholic Church, Christianity, and religion in general remain vitally relevant in human affairs in our supposedly secular age. The world’s eyes became fixed on Rome following Pope Francis’s death. The white smoke billowing from the roof of St. Peter’s on Thursday caused the globe to catch its breath. Once Leo emerged on the balcony, tributes from secular powers of all political persuasions came pouring in.