Pope Leo XIV says the Catholic Church must confront sexual abuse committed by clergy with truth, justice and accountability. Addressing bishops in Peru, he called for the Church to make amends to victims and create stronger protections to prevent future abuse.
Published On 12 Nov 202612 Nov 2026
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Vatican confirms the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in his native Chicago ahead of November 3 midterm elections
Pope Leo XIV has become the first pontiff to vote in a United States general election after casting a mail-in ballot in Chicago, where he was born.
The Vatican confirmed on Friday that the pope submitted a mail-in ballot in the city ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, citing his longstanding belief in civic participation.
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Leo, formerly Robert Prevost, “has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen”, as he has done “whenever he was eligible to do so”, the Vatican’s press office said.
“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” it added.
The Vatican did not say which candidates Leo voted for.
In a note commenting on Leo’s vote, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops urged Catholics to put “our faith before our politics” and “uphold human dignity and the common good”.
“In voting, our Holy Father sets the example that encourages each citizen to exercise their civic responsibility,” said the conference’s director of public affairs, Chieko Noguchi.
Leo is a citizen not only of the US but also of Peru, where he lived as a priest and bishop for more than 20 years, as well as of the Vatican, where he is head of state.
US federal law allows citizens living abroad, even those working for foreign governments, to vote via absentee ballot.
Americans working for foreign governments are not automatically at risk of losing their US citizenship, but the US State Department says on its website that it may “actively review” the citizenship status of Americans who “serve as a foreign head of state, foreign head of government, or foreign minister”.
In this year’s midterm elections, voters in the solidly Democratic state of Illinois, where Chicago is located, will select a successor to retiring Senator Dick Durbin and choose whether to re-elect Governor JB Pritzker.
Leo requested a mail-in ballot on October 3, just 10 days before he underwent surgery to remove a cancerous tumour from his right lung. He has slowly been resuming his activities at the Vatican after being released from the hospital on October 17.
Since 2000, Leo has voted in five primary elections as Prevost, requesting Democratic ballots twice and Republican ballots three times, according to records held by the Illinois State Board of Elections, which do not show which candidates he supported.
Illinois voters must declare a party preference to receive a primary ballot.
While registered in heavily-Democratic Cook County, Prevost requested Democratic primary ballots in 2008 and 2010. After moving to the more conservative Will County, he requested Republican primary ballots in 2012, 2014 and 2016.
Since Leo’s ascent to the papacy in May 2025, US President Donald Trump has clashed with the pontiff several times.
Trump criticised the pope for repeatedly condemning the US-Israel war on Iran and for challenging his administration’s crackdown on immigrants.
Earlier this year, Trump called Leo “weak” and captive to the “radical left”, kicking off a remarkable back-and-forth argument.
Leo responded by telling reporters: “I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the church works for.”
Doctors say they are seeing ‘continued improvement’ after the US-born pope had a lump removed from his lung on Tuesday.
Published On 17 Oct 202617 Oct 2026
Pope Leo has returned to the Vatican, four days after receiving surgery for lung cancer in Rome.
The pope said he was feeling “much better” when asked about his health as he was driven away from the Gemelli University Hospital against cries of “holiness” from onlookers on Saturday.
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Leo had the lower lobe of his right lung removed on Tuesday. The surgery confirmed he had adenocarcinoma, which is the most common type of lung cancer.
He is set to resume some duties on Sunday, when he greets the faithful with the Catholic Church’s traditional Angelus blessing.
Doctors have said tests confirmed his “continued improvement”.
Since having surgery, the pope has had a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, held meetings with senior aides and celebrated mass in a makeshift hospital chapel.
Leo thanked staff in the Rome hospital for the work they do every day “taking care of the sick in their fragility”, as well as for “what they had done for him”, a Vatican spokesperson said.
Pope Leo’s next major engagement is a trip to Latin America in mid-November, giving him about three weeks to recover for an ambitious journey that includes a dozen flights and two helicopter trips.
Leo is the first pope from the United States, hailing from Chicago. However, he has spent decades living and working across South America and is a naturalised Peruvian citizen.