Pope Leo XIV resumes the tradition of taking a summer vacation. But he’s got plenty of homework

VATICAN CITY AP In his very first sermon as pontiff Pope Leo XIV narrated the cardinals who elected him that anyone who exercises authority in the Catholic Church must make oneself small so that only Christ remains In word and deed since Leo has seemed intent on almost disappearing into the role The shy -year-old Augustinian missionary has eschewed the headline-grabbing protagonism of past pontiffs in favor of a quieter less showy and more reserved way of being pope Leo will disappear further this weekend when he begins a six-week vacation in his first break since his historic electoral process May Leo is resuming the papal tradition of escaping the Roman heat for the relatively cooler climes of Castel Gandolfo the papal summer retreat on Lake Alban south of Rome People who know and work with Leo expect he will use these weeks away from the residents eye and the daily grind of Vatican audiences to get his head around the majority pressing problems facing the church He s a methodical hard-working and well-prepared manager they say who wants to read entire reports not just the executive summaries before making decisions Here is a look at Leo s summer homework the outstanding dossiers he may be studying from now until Aug in between dips in the pool walks in the gardens and occasional Masses prayers and visits in town Big nominations After his balloting Leo reappointed all Vatican prefects until further notice so the Holy See machinery is still working with the old guard in place But a minimal major appointments await majority importantly to fill Leo s old job as prefect of the office that vets bishop nominations Leo also has to decide who will be his No The Vatican secretary of state the equivalent of a prime minister is still Cardinal Pietro Parolin Pope Francis pick who was himself an unsuccessful contender in the conclave that elected Leo pope Even before he gets his people in place Leo has to get a handle on one of the the greater part pressing problems facing the Holy See Its troubled finances The Vatican is running a structural deficit of around million to million euros - million and has a billion euro billion shortfall in its pension fund The Rupnik trouble There are plenty of high-profile clergy sex cases that festered during Francis pontificate that are now are on Leo s desk History s first American pope will be watched closely to see how he handles them since he cannot claim ignorance about abuse or its dynamics given the devastation the scandals have wrought in the United States On the eve of his vacation he made an vital appointment naming French Bishop Thibault Verny head of the Vatican s child protection advisory board replacing the retiring American Cardinal Sean O Malley Leo has already mentioned it s urgent to create a heritage of prevention in the church that shows no tolerance for any form of abuse be it abuse of authority or spiritual or sexual abuse On that tally there is no event more pressing than that of the Rev Marko Rupnik a famous mosaic artist who was belatedly thrown out of the Jesuits after its superiors determined he sexually psychologically and spiritually abused two dozen adult women and nuns Even though the development didn t involve minors it became a toxic matter for Francis because of suggestions Rupnik received favorable medication at the Vatican under the Jesuit pope Nearly two years after Francis caved into pressure to reopen the Rupnik file the Vatican has decisively uncovered external canon lawyers to hear the episode the head of the Vatican s doctrine office Cardinal Victor Manuel Fern ndez stated reporters last week As in recent months as March Fernandez had reported he was having trouble finding any willing candidates Now that Francis is dead the event may be less politically delicate even as the priest s supporters maintain his innocence Leo has already sent a signal with Vatican News removing Rupnik s artwork from its website The Becciu circumstance Another legal headache facing Leo is what to do about Cardinal Angelo Becciu and the Vatican s trial of the century which is heading into the appeals phase in September The city-state s criminal tribunal in convicted Becciu and eight other people of a variety of financial crimes stemming from the Holy See s bungled million euro million capital in a London property But the trial was itself problematic with defense suggests that basic defense rights weren t respected since Francis intervened on several occasions in favor of prosecutors In the months since the verdicts were handed down there have been new revelations that Vatican gendarmes and prosecutors were apparently in regular touch with a woman who was coaching the star witness into testifying against Becciu The once-powerful cardinal has denounced the contacts as evidence that his conviction was orchestrated from the start from the top Leo a canon lawyer may want to steer clear of the whole thing to try to give the tribunal the impression of being independent But Leo will ultimately have to decide what to do with Becciu who recused himself from the conclave but remains a cardinal with a very unclear status The Latin Mass issue Leo has noted his priority as pope is unity and reconciliation in the church Multiple conservatives and traditionalists hope that means he will work to heal the liturgical divisions that spread during Francis -year papacy especially in the U S over the old Latin Mass Francis in restricted access for ordinary Catholics to the ancient liturgy arguing that its spread was creating divisions in the church In doing so Francis reversed his predecessor Pope Benedict XVI who in had relaxed restrictions on its celebration Cardinal Raymond Burke a figurehead of the conservative and traditionalist camp communicated a latest conference on the Latin Mass that he had spoken to Leo about the need to put an end to the present persecution of the faithful who want to worship according to the old rite It it is my hope that he will as soon as it is viable take up the research of this question and try to restore the situation as it was under Benedict s modification Burke declared AI and passage priorities Leo has also identified artificial intelligence as a pressing issue facing humanity suggesting a document of particular sort might be in the works Also under investigation is when he will start traveling and where Leo has a standing invitation to undertake Francis last unfulfilled foreign commitment Marking the th anniversary of the Council of Nicea Christianity s first ecumenical council with a visit to Turkey Leo has already noted a visit is in the works possibly in late November Beyond that Leo has received plenty of invitations Vice President JD Vance extended a Trump invitation to visit the U S but Leo demurred and offered a noncommittal at chosen point Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited him to visit Kyiv but the Vatican under Francis had refused a papal visit there unless one could also be arranged to Moscow Leo s old diocese of Chiclayo Peru meanwhile is waiting for their bishop to come home and then there s Argentina which never got a papal visit from the first-ever Argentine pope A town awaits The residents of Castel Gandolfo meanwhile are aching for a pope to return Francis had decided not to use the retreat and instead spent his papal summers at home in the Vatican The town has recovered from the economic hit of pope-free summers after Francis instead opened the papal palace and gardens to the population as a museum year-round But townsfolks cannot wait for Leo to take up residence and enjoy the town s gorgeous lake views and quiet starry nights It s the perfect place for a pope to rest read write and think in private they say Remember multiple encyclicals were written here noted the Rev Tadeusz Rozmus the town s parish priest