History is a funny thing. One day you're a 19th-century aristocrat with a penchant for Latin poetry, and the next, you're the face of a 21st-century culture war. That’s exactly what’s happening right now with Pope Leo XIII. Or, more accurately, with the name "Leo" in general.
In the last few months, social media has been on fire. You’ve probably seen the headlines or the TikTok rants. People are branding Pope Leo to be called woke, and the internet is, well, doing what the internet does. It’s a messy mix of historical confusion, modern political anxiety, and a very specific 2026 brand of "gotcha" journalism.
The Confusion Between Two Leos
To understand why everyone is arguing, you have to realize there are actually two "Leos" in the conversation. First, there’s the historical heavy-hitter, Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903. Then, there’s the current vibes surrounding the new Pope Leo XIV.
Honestly, the "woke" label usually gets slapped on anyone who talks about the poor more than they talk about liturgy. When Leo XIV was elected in 2025, the "woke" alarm bells started ringing immediately. Why? Because he’s a Chicago-born guy who actually cares about climate change and migrants.
He recently blessed a block of melting Arctic ice. Yeah, you read that right.
To the MAGA crowd and the traditionalist wing of the Church, that’s peak wokeness. It’s theatrical. It’s "liberal." But to the supporters of Leo XIV, he’s just following the playbook of his namesake, Leo XIII. They argue that if you think the current guy is woke, you clearly haven't read what the "original" Leo had to say back in the 1890s.
Why 1891 Changed Everything
Let’s go back. Way back.
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Imagine it’s 1891. The Industrial Revolution has basically turned the world upside down. People are leaving farms to work 14-hour shifts in soot-covered factories. Kids are losing fingers in looms. There’s no minimum wage, no weekends, and definitely no HR department to complain to.
In the middle of this chaos, Pope Leo XIII drops a document called Rerum Novarum. The title literally means "Of Revolutionary Change."
This wasn't some dry, religious poem. It was a punch to the gut of the elites. Leo XIII looked at the "unbridled capitalism" of his day and called it out for what it was: a system that treated humans like cogs in a machine. He demanded a "living wage." He said workers had a "God-given right" to form unions.
If a politician said those things today, half the country would call them a socialist. But here’s the kicker: Leo XIII also hated socialism. Like, really hated it. He called it a "vicked" ideology that robbed people of their right to own property.
The "Woke" Label: Is It Accurate?
So, is Pope Leo to be called woke a fair assessment? It depends on who you ask and how they define that four-letter word.
If "woke" means caring about systemic inequality and the rights of the marginalized, then yeah, Leo XIII was the OG. He didn’t just want people to give a few coins to beggars; he wanted to change the system so the beggars didn’t exist in the first place.
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But if "woke" implies a total abandonment of tradition, the label falls apart.
- He was a Thomist: He obsessed over the philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. He wasn't trying to be "new"; he was trying to apply ancient truths to a new, messy world.
- He loved the Rosary: He wrote eleven encyclicals on it. Not exactly the behavior of a radical progressive trying to dismantle the Church.
- He defended private property: He believed that if a man works hard, he should be able to buy a small piece of land and call it his own.
The MAGA Backlash in 2026
Fast forward to today. The tension is thick.
Current commentators, particularly in the U.S., are struggling with the "Leonine" legacy. When Pope Leo XIV criticizes deportation policies or talks about the "dictatorship of wealth," he’s pulling directly from his predecessor's 130-year-old notes.
But in our polarized era, there’s no room for nuance. You’re either a traditionalist or you’re woke. There is no middle ground.
Steve Bannon and other high-profile conservative voices have been pretty vocal about their distaste for the current direction of the papacy. They see the focus on "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion" (DEI) themes as a betrayal. To them, the label Pope Leo to be called woke isn't a compliment—it's a warning of a church in decline.
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Catholic Social Teaching (CST) was literally built by Leo XIII. He saw the Church as a "middle way" between the greed of the robber barons and the godlessness of the Marxists. He was trying to protect the family unit. He knew that if a father can't earn enough to feed his kids, the family falls apart. If the family falls apart, society follows.
It wasn't about being "progressive" in the modern sense. It was about being "human" in a way that the 19th-century economy wasn't.
The Real Impact of the Leonine Legacy
- Labor Unions: Without Leo XIII, the Catholic support for the labor movement in the 20th century might never have happened.
- The New Deal: Did you know that FDR’s New Deal was heavily influenced by Father John Ryan, a priest who was obsessed with Leo XIII’s writings?
- Environmentalism: Today's "Green Pope" rhetoric actually traces back to the idea that the earth is a gift for everyone, not just for those who can afford to buy it up.
Moving Beyond the Buzzwords
Honestly, calling Pope Leo to be called woke is a bit of a lazy shortcut. It’s what we do when we don’t want to read the actual documents.
If you actually sit down with Rerum Novarum, you’ll find stuff that offends everyone. Liberals will love the talk about unions but hate the defense of hierarchy and tradition. Conservatives will love the defense of property but hate the "tax the rich" energy of the social justice sections.
History doesn't fit into our neat little political boxes.
Actionable Insights for the Curious
If you're trying to make sense of the "Woke Pope" headlines, here’s how to actually dig deeper without getting lost in the Twitter sauce:
- Read the source material: Don't take a pundit's word for it. Look up Rerum Novarum. It’s surprisingly readable for a 130-year-old document.
- Look for the "Third Way": Notice how Leo tries to avoid both the "greed" of the right and the "state-control" of the left. That nuance is where the real meat is.
- Watch the symbolism: When you see Pope Leo XIV doing something "woke," ask yourself: is this a departure from tradition, or is he just using a modern "language" (like climate science) to say something the Church has been saying since the 1800s?
- Contextualize the "Woke" label: Understand that in 2026, "woke" is often used as a catch-all term for "anything that makes me uncomfortable about my own political team."
The debate isn't going away. As long as there are people struggling to pay rent and billionaires getting richer, the words of the Leos—both the old one and the new one—will remain a lightning rod. Whether you call it woke or just "the Gospel," it's clearly not going out of style.
To understand the current shifts in the Vatican, start by comparing the specific language used in Rerum Novarum to the modern speeches given by Leo XIV on wealth inequality. You will find that the "revolutionary" ideas of today are often just echoes of a long-standing, if often ignored, Catholic tradition.