Pope Leo XIV’s first weeks: abuse, finances and fences to mend

Elise Ann Allen/ Crux• May 27, 2025

A quick look at the first appointments and audiences at the outset of a new papacy offers a small insight into the new system and indicates what is on the mind of the new Pope in terms of pastoral and administrative priorities.

As Pope Leo XIV approaches nearly a month at the helm of the Catholic Church, with more than two weeks of scheduling meetings and making various initial decisions – beyond the expected meetings with state leaders in town for his election and installation activities – his top priorities are already beginning to take shape.

On the whole, they seem to indicate his intention to carry on the unfinished business of the Francis papacy, from finances to the abuse crisis to the reform of the Roman Curia.

One of the most notable meetings came on Tuesday, May 27, when Pope Leo held a private meeting with the disgraced Italian Cardinal Angelo Becciu, 76, who in December 2023 was sentenced to five and a half years in jail at the culmination of the Vatican’s so-called Trial of the Century for financial crimes related to a shady real estate deal in London, in which the Vatican took a loss of roughly $250 million.

In addition to his jail time, Becciu was also fined roughly $8,700 and permanently barred from holding any public office in the Vatican City State. Becciu, the first cardinal to ever be convicted and sentenced in a Vatican civil court, has consistently denied the allegations against him and has filed an appeal.

Prior to the conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV, Becciu attended pre-conclave general congregation meetings, insisting he had not been barred from voting in the conclave until he was reportedly shown a letter from Pope Francis stating that Becciu could not vote, after which he withdrew from participation.

The cardinals participating in the general congregations then published a communique thanking Becciu for bowing out gracefully, and voiced hope that the competent judicial authorities would “definitively ascertain the facts”.

Some cardinals were reportedly unhappy with the way Becciu was treated, and believed he got a raw deal.
By meeting with Becciu, Pope Leo is not necessarily rehabilitating or reinstating him, or giving any stamp of approval, but is potentially trying to address one of the most urgent and glaring situations that emerged during pre-conclave meetings that left a bad taste in the mouths of at least some cardinals.

Taken in tandem with his decision to give an official job – however nominal – to Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, indicates that Leo is trying to some degree to mend fences and deal with painful situations not just in the Church, but in the body of the College of Cardinals.

Perhaps most indicative, however, is Pope Leo’s first official meeting – beyond the heads of state who visited for his election and inaugural Mass – after taking office.

On 14 May, the Pope held a private meeting with American Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, archbishop emeritus of Boston and president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. Prior to the conclave and during the general congregations, two issues repeatedly emerged as among the most glaring problems the Church continued to face: The Vatican’s financial crisis, and ongoing fallout from the clerical abuse crisis.

The Pope’s choice to meet with O’Malley as his first official audience, then, is indicative of just how much of a priority the abuse crisis will be in his papacy, especially given his vast experience with the Peru-based Sodalitium Christiane Vitae (SCV), a society of apostolic life whose case the new Pope had been personally involved in as bishop and cardinal, and which was suppressed by Pope Francis earlier this year, shortly before his death.

Other meetings that indicate what is on the new Pope’s mind are as follows. Leo met on 12 May with Cardinal Baldassare Reina, vicar of the Diocese of Rome. That meeting was most probably focused on his installation as Bishop of Rome, though also possibly on the longer-term implications, given suggestions that Pope Leo intends on taking his specific role as Bishop of Rome more seriously than his predecessor did.

Then on 14 May, Leo met with officials charged with organising the ongoing Jubilee of Hope and the head of Opus Dei, Spanish Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz. The meeting with Ocáriz likely focused on the ongoing reform of Opus Dei’s statutes, which was a process ordered by Pope Francis, but which has not yet been finished or formalised, meaning Pope Leo in holding the meeting is likely anxious to bring that issue to a resolution.

That day he also held an unofficial meeting, meaning it was not included in his list of appointments published by the Vatican Press Office, with Italian Sister Simona Brambilla, prefect of the Dicastery for Religious, who signed the SCV’s decree of suppression and is managing several other cases.

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Pope Leo has slowly been meeting with other prefects of the dicasteries of the Roman Curia, including a May 15 meeting with the entire leadership of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development: Cardinal Michael Czerny, prefect; Sister Alessandra Smerilli, secretary; Cardinal Fagio Baggio, undersecretary; and Monsignor Anthony Onyemuche Ekpo, undersecretary

Notably, the Pope met with Smerilli and Baggio again on 27 May, without Czerny as prefect, raising expectations that Pope Leo might make good on rumours that Pope Francis had intended, prior to his death, to appoint Smerilli as prefect of the Dicastery for Integral Human Development; Czerny is already 78, three years past the traditional age of retirement for prelates.

The Pope also held a meeting on 16 May with Cardinal Victor Fernandez, prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, and he met with Fernandez again on 26 May, making him the first prefect with whom Pope Leo has so far met twice. It is likely that at least part of the conversation during one or both meetings dealt with the ongoing case surrounding Slovene Father Marko Rupnik, a former Jesuit and famed muralist accused of sexually assaulting some 30-40 adult women, and whose case has been among the most notorious in the Catholic Church over the past two years

Leo also met on 22 May with Archbishop Giordano Piccinotti, president of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See (APSA), indicating that the Vatican’s financial situation is also a priority.

Pope Leo said initially that he wanted to leave all dicastery heads in their current positions, taking time to listen, pray, and discern before making any changes; so his meetings with prefects are likely part of his effort to get an accurate lay of the land before making any decisions on personnel.

However, some meetings, such as his first meeting with O’Malley and his choice to meet Piccinotti before meeting some dicastery prefects, are indicative of his own priorities, and those expressed during pre-conclave meetings.

He also appears eager to address the “unfinished business” of the Francis papacy, as indicated by meetings such as that with Ocáriz, while also wanting to mend fences where he can, whether it is with Sarah or Becciu.

Regardless of how to interpret his initial meetings, it is undeniable that Pope Leo wants to get down to business, and if his schedule over the past two weeks is any indication, he is doing just that.

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Photo: Pope Leo XIV waves to the crowd from the main balcony of St. Mary Major basilica after a prayer service, in Rome on May 25, 2025. (Photo by Andreas SOLARO / AFP)