Newsmax's Rick Santorum criticizes Pope Leo XIV for using “buzzwords of the left”
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From the May 8, 2025, edition of Newsmax's American Agenda
TRACY SABOL (HOST): What do you think happens to the church going forward?
RICK SANTORUM (CONTRIBUTOR): Look, I'm not worried about the church going forward. This too shall pass. I mean, as I said before, Francis didn't change any doctrine. Pope Leo is not going to change any doctrine. I mean, it's just — it won't happen. It can't happen. And but what will happen is his interface in the — in temporal affairs. And that's the thing that that worries me.
And also what's he going to do to help evangelize the church? I mean, what we've seen is every place that has gone, left the church is dying, the church is losing membership and including in the United States and the places in the United States where it's strong and it's growing, just like in Africa —
ROB FINNERTY (HOST): In Africa.
SANTORUM: — and Asia is where they are true to the gospel, where they're true to the teachings of the magisterium of the church. And so to put someone in place —
FINNERTY: Senator, you're already at this too shall pass. We've had a new pope for two hours for the first time from the United States, and we're already there. There's no optimism.
SANTORUM: Well, I have very little optimism about about him being as pope. But I have no concern whatsoever that he's going to change the character of the Catholic Church. 2000 years, you know, when you've had some of the worst scoundrels known to man as pope and they didn't change and they didn't corrupt the church, he's not going to.
FINNERTY: His first message to the world as pontiff, Leo the 14th, again, he began in Italian, which is common. That is traditional.
SANTORUM: No problem.
FINNERTY: We are in Italy. He said, peace be with you. Peace of the Lord be with you. Peace of the world. Peace to the world. God loves us all. Peace comes from God. God wishes the world good. I'm glad we had the translation immediately. To me, that's a welcome message.
SANTORUM: No, look, nothing wrong with his opening. And it was fine.
But then you sort of transitions into talking about Francis and thanking Francis and then concludes with synodality. And I mean, these are all buzzwords of the left. And again, no outreach from someone who clearly is going to be perceived as someone who is — and he even noted himself by including Francis in his speech — who's going to be a, in a sense, a successor to Francis, to do nothing to include those who have concerns about how Francis governed, I think is — was not a good move on his part to bring the church together.