An American pope takes over!

By almost any measure you can use, I shouldn't really care about the selection of a new pope.

I was baptized and raised in a church, Greek Orthodox, that split from Catholicism more than a millenia ago. I have been a practicing Protestant since marrying one in 1971. I have watched the papacy from a distance, admiring the teachings of various popes over the years.

And yet, when the white smoke emerged today from the chimney in the Vatican signaling the selection of a new pontiff, my eyes welled up. Then came the stunner. The new pope is an American, born Robert Francis Prevost! How cool is that?

He is far from your typical American in many respects. One of the key elements of this fellow is his fluency in several languages other than that of his birth. He speaks Spanish, French, Italian, Portugese, German and Polish with apparent ease and comfort.

Why is this selection a big deal? From what I have been able to learn since the white smoke billowed over St. Peter's Square, Pope Leo XIV is cut from much of the same cloth that produced Pope Francis I, the man Leo succeeded as pontiff. His views on immigration, and inclusiveness and diversity within the church suggest some likely head-butting with, oh, shall we say Donald J. Trump.

Trump was critical of Pope Francis because the late pontiff took a dim view of Trump's willingness to build walls and ignore bridges. Indeed, at Francis's final Easter blessing, which he delivered the weekend before his death, he re-stated his criticism of Trump's policies.

Pope Leo appears set to follow the trail blazed by Francis.

To which I only would say, you go for it Holy Father. The entire world needs your wisdom and compassion.