RECENT comments made to a group of athletes in Rome offer a striking example of why Bob Prevost (aka “Pope” Leo XIV) is not Catholic, not a member of the Catholic Church and most certainly not a pope. Though his remarks would not offend most listeners today, who in fact would likely find his message appealing, they are devoid of any real supernatural content. Bob delivers a humanistic, pagan message — with no acknowledgement of the dangers of excess or making sports the goal of life — the sort of thing the president of a secular college might say in a speech before a sports championship.

His speech embodies the spirit of pagan Rome today — focused on the pleasures of warm relationships, lumping all religions into one sugary cake, and glorifying the human god. It is the sterile, religious counterpart to the dehumanizing New World Order.