Chris Jackson – September 19, 2025
On September 18, 2025, Leo gave an explosive interview to Elise Ann Allen, chief correspondent of Crux, excerpts of which have been published in his new biography Leo XIV: Citizen of the World, Missionary of the XXI Century. In the conversation, Leo outlined his vision on four hot-button issues that have torn the Church apart for decades: homosexuality, women’s ordination, synodality, and liturgy.
What he said was a genuine program. He indicated openness to reviewing women’s ordination, defended Fiducia Supplicans on LGBT blessings, suggested that episcopal conferences could gain doctrinal weight, and dismissed the difference between the Traditional Mass and the Novus Ordo by reducing it to a mere matter of “attitudes.” Even more disturbing, he hinted that the Church’s doctrine on marriage and sexuality could change once mentalities have been “softened.”
“First the attitudes, then the doctrine” — Heresy in broad daylight
This was the most chilling phrase from the interview, in direct response to whether the Church could change its teaching on homosexuality:
“We have to change attitudes before even thinking about changing what the Church says on any specific issue.”
When asked if the moral doctrine on sodomy, fornication, and “homosexual marriage” could be altered, Leo did not respond with a clear and binding “no.” He gave a roadmap: first change the mentality, then the magisterium.
That is exactly what St. Pius X condemned in Pascendi Dominici Gregis, where he describes how modernists evolve dogma “according to the needs of the times” and “the conscience of the people.” Divine revelation is hijacked by public opinion.
Leo added afterward: “It is very unlikely, certainly in the near future, that the Church’s doctrine on what it teaches about sexuality and marriage will change.”
He did not say it was impossible. He said it was “unlikely”… for now. It is the language of someone who believes that moral teaching can be rewritten, once attitudes have been tamed.
Women’s Ordination — The “Open Question” That Isn’t
Leo proposes studying the female diaconate again, as if the boundaries of the sacrament were nebulous. But the Church has already staked the ground: only a baptized male can validly receive holy orders. Pretending otherwise is to fracture the sacrament into disconnected rituals.
LGBT Blessings — Cosmetic Restrictions, Real Scandal
Leo supports the framework of Fiducia Supplicans, which distinguishes between “blessing people” and not “blessing unions.” But the Church cannot bless what it teaches is sin. The priest’s raised hand becomes a sign of approval. Explaining for five pages that the blessing “is not a blessing” is already admitting the scandal.
Episcopal Conferences — Doctrinal Federalism
Leo suggests giving more “doctrinal authority” to episcopal conferences. But John Paul II’s Apostolos Suos already established that they do not possess infallible magisterial power. Flirting with that “federalism” is opening the door to fragmentation and schism.
Liturgy: “Isn’t There Much Difference?”
Leo reduces the issue to a matter of language: “You can celebrate the Vatican II rite in Latin, no problem.” But the difference is not the language, but the rite itself: its theology, its prayers, its orientation, its spirit. Equating the Tridentine Mass with a “well-celebrated” Novus Ordo is an insult to those who have suffered persecution, suspension, and marginalization for preserving the traditional Mass.
In the end, he admits that he has never sat down to listen to the faithful who defend the traditional Mass… but he has had time for meetings with LGBT activists. That contrast says it all.
The Verdict: Complicity or Resistance
After this interview, no one can claim ignorance anymore. Leo has spoken clearly: he considers women’s ordination possible, leaves the door open to a doctrinal change on homosexuality, fantasizes about granting magisterium to episcopal conferences, and dismisses the traditional Mass as irrelevant.
Remaining silent in the face of this is not prudence. It is complicity.