The Pope's Breathless Fanboys

In the Ages of Faith, the average Catholic probably had no idea who the Pope was. They prayed for him, but other than that, he was not important in their lives. How things have changed! Now, people are tracking his every move.

From Crisis

By Austin Ruse

The intense focus on the dailly minutia of the Holy Father can veer into unhealthy voyeurism.

Not long ago, Rich Raho, a high school teacher with a not insignificant audience on 𝕏, posted a picture of Pope Leo along with this: “Every pontificate has a defining moment, and Leo’s ‘moonlight speech’ tonight was one of them. Unscripted and energized by thousands of young people in the Square, Leo let his guard down, and the crowd roared and embraced him…”

Do popes have defining moments? Has Leo had his guard up? And now he’s let it down? Raho says so. Raho called it a “breakout moment.” Breakout from what exactly? He does not say. The pope takes a swing around St. Peter’s Square, and Raho tells us, “And now we have the theme song from ‘The Prince of Egypt’ being sung.” 

Raho is not the only fanboy. A Democratic operative, Christopher Hale, with 48,000 followers, is banging on how Pope Leo is the most popular American in the world, the best-known American in the world, and the most loved American in the world. In June, Hale posted, 

For the first time, the most famous American in the world is not the president or a Hollywood icon or tech billionaire—it’s the Pope. This is more than a Catholic triumph; it’s a cultural watershed for the United States. In a society that often equates American influence with might or money or celebrity, now our foremost representative on the global stage is a humble man in a white cassock, preaching love, justice, and mercy.

Taking nothing away from Pope Leo, I suspect that there is hardly anyone in the world who does not know the name Trump, far fewer who know the name Pope Leo. Hale says, “The loudest man in the world is an American politician. The quietest? An American pope.” Hale’s special Democratic project is to juxtapose Leo over against Trump. Let’s you and him fight, says Hale to Leo. 

Hale continues his Leo worship with a post about Leo tearing up during Mass, calling Leo “the world’s foremost champion for peace,” despite Trump having ended and ending more wars. But this is not really about juxtaposing Leo and Don. It is about the cult of celebrity, as evidenced by Raho and Hale and all the other pope stalkers. 

You get the sense that Hale and Raho, along with other Francists, are working hard to capture Leo for what they see as their side, to continue the Francis project. If they can let Leo know how much they adore him, they will. It seems they are trying a tad hard. 

Raho and Hale follow each tick of the pope in ways similar to Kremlinologists who followed the ups and downs and the disappearances of Stalin’s men. Not long ago, Raho said, 

Of note: At Leo’s side for the first 100 days, Pope Leo’s secretary Fr. Edgar Rimaycuna has been missing from the papal scene since Leo’s return from Castle Gandolfo; some observers suggest he is in Peru for a “break,” though nothing is confirmed. At the same time, Papal MC Archbishop Diego Ravelli was conspicuously absent from tonight’s vigil. 

Gadzooks, man, Rimaycuna is missing? Missing! Ravelli is absent? Absent! Whatever can this mean? The mind shudders. The soul quakes. Who is in, who is out, who is up, who is down. We must know!!!

This smells a bit like the cult of celebrity, Catholic edition. This breathless fanboy coverage of every move, every utterance is, well, not dignified for you or him. Leave the guy alone. Let him do his work. And you could find something really useful to do. This smacks of Tiger Beat, the magazine teen girls subscribed to in the ’60s, where they would tear out Bobby Sherman posters to paste on their walls and dream, dream, dream. 

To a certain extent, we can blame John Paul II and modern means of communication. Popes hardly ever traveled. The first pope in modern times to travel outside Italy was Pius VI, who was taken prisoner by Napoleon and died in exile. Then there was Pius VII, who traveled to France for Napoleon’s coronation, but this was under pressure. They called Paul VI the “traveling pope” because he went to the Holy Land and then to New York and several other countries. However, it was Pope John Paul II who became the rock star and changed everything—swooping low in a helicopter over a million screaming kids. And we were all in on it. Mick Jagger couldn’t have pulled that off, close maybe. 

We followed JPII’s every utterance and movement, and this continued with Benedict and abundantly under Francis, whose coterie of fanboys had points to make, heretics to punish and excommunicate.  And you have to wonder if this is really healthy. Do we really have to know exactly the moment Leo is heading back to the Vatican, and when his apartments will be ready, and which congregation of religious will be living with him? Do we really have to consider that the pope has had a “breakout moment,” a “defining moment”? 
The good news for Raho is that the Rimaycuna riddle has been solved. Just hours ago, he posted, “Pope Leo is expected to move into the Apostolic Palace in one month along with his private secretary Fr. Edgard Rimaycuna; 3 Augustinians who run the papal sacristy will reside there as well.” 

I’m not sure about you, but I am greatly relieved.