“So, the Pope doesn’t take sides. Prevost has another opinion, but we won’t do that now.”
That funny quip from Pope Leo XIV (born Robert Prevost) referred to the historic game in Rome when the Villanova and Notre Dame basketball teams play each other.
However, a story this week raised a different question of when the Pope, as opposed to Prevost, can “take sides.”
This month, American-born Pope Leo XIV became the first pope ever to vote in a U.S. election.
A longtime Chicago native, the Pope mailed an absentee ballot to Will County, and the clerk’s office confirmed to Fox News Digital that “Robert Prevost is on the list of individuals who requested a Vote by Mail ballot.” There is no question that the Pope can vote in the Holy See. Indeed, he is the ultimate and final vote in the Vatican, but can he actually vote in Illinois races (including the governor’s race involving incumbent Democrat J.B. Pritzker)? The answer appears to be yes, but it raises some novel questions.
Now, as a threshold matter, I want to shed some bias. I was raised Catholic in Chicago. No, that is not the bias. There is that lingering conflict with the Pope coming out as a White Sox fan. Many of us on the North Side hoped for a conversion to restore our faith in papal infallibility. However, he has remained entrenched in his South Side allegiance.
This column rises above that historic rivalry and does not suggest that White Sox fans can be challenged at the polls. (Besides, I previously explained that the Pope is a Cubs fan without knowing it.)
Rather, what surprised me was that the head of a foreign state could vote in U.S. elections. The Vatican is a distinct nation with a diplomatic corps, a court system, a local government, and even a military in the form of the legendary Swiss Guards.
The Holy See Press Office declared, “Pope Leo XIV has exercised his right to vote as a United States citizen whenever he was eligible to do so. The Holy See Press Office confirms that, in keeping with this long-standing practice of civic participation, he has submitted his mail-in ballot in Chicago.”
The Holy See maintains that Pope Leo retains his status as a U.S. citizen while serving as the head of a foreign nation. There is support for this position.
The State Department has maintained that dual citizens do not have to choose between their countries, though it does not expect them to serve as the head of another country.
“U.S. dual nationals owe allegiance to both the United States and the foreign country (or countries, if they are nationals of more than one). They are required to obey the laws of both countries, and either country has the right to enforce its laws. Claims of other countries upon U.S. dual-nationals may result in conflicting obligations under the laws of each country. U.S. dual nationals may also face restrictions in the U.S. consular protections available to U.S. nationals abroad, particularly in the country of their other nationality.”
Notably, the State Department requires dual citizens to use a U.S. passport to enter the country. Does that mean that, when traveling as head of state, Pope Leo has to use a U.S. passport? Unlikely, but intriguing.
It strikes me as odd that a person can lead another country and still vote in U.S. elections. With all of those worried about Russian interference in elections, imagine if Putin could actually vote in U.S. elections. Obviously, Pope Leo is greatly loved and represents someone whose values are aligned with this country. Yet, he is also the head of state of a foreign nation.
Under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), military personnel and citizens abroad are allowed to vote in U.S. elections. It is no longer considered an absentee vote requiring an excuse but simply a mail-in ballot.
The question is whether this right should be suspended when you assume a position in a foreign nation, let alone the head of such a nation. Dual citizenship has long been debated over the difficult questions raised by nations with opposing values and interests. However, being the head of a foreign government with potentially opposing interests and actions to the United States creates a curious status.
It turns out that when Gov. Pritzker met with the Pope last year, he was actually meeting with a constituent and voter.
I am most surprised that the Vatican does not have a policy against such voting, though this is admittedly unprecedented. I would think that the head of the Catholic faith and the head of a foreign government would have a single national citizenship for the Holy See. All popes are selected from the global faithful by the College of Cardinals and thus have national citizenship with other countries.
In assuming their positions, the cardinals “pledge and swear, as individuals and as a group, to observe faithfully and scrupulously the prescriptions contained in the Apostolic Constitution.” They also reaffirm that they are not subject to countervailing allegiances or pressures from outside of the College: “And never to lend support or favour to any interference, opposition or any other form of intervention, whereby secular authorities of whatever order and degree or any group of people or individuals might wish to intervene in the election of the Roman Pontiff.”
However, it is fascinating that, once elected, Popes do not shed that status upon assuming the head of the Holy See.
It is an uncomfortable question since it also raises whether the head of a foreign government should have dual citizenship. Most people were legitimately thrilled (including myself) by the first American Pope and can view this as an unlikely “one-off.” However, it could just as easily happen with another nation and a dual citizen.
At the risk of my own excommunication, it seems a worthy question for discussion, even though I doubt any politicians would relish such a debate. For his part, Pope Leo stated before the Villanova-Notre Dame game that the Pope will not take sides in the U.S. elections, but Robert Prevost will.
Jonathan Turley is a law professor and the New York Times best-selling author of “Rage and the Republic: The Unfinished Story of the American Revolution.”
The Essence Of Karl Marx Through The Communist Manifesto
– The transition itself requires violence: I do not believe the capitalist class will ever give up their power willingly. Therefore, the destruction of the economic system—the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the seizure of private property—requires a violent proletarian revolution.
– The elimination of religion is indirect: Once that violent economic shift is complete, my approach to religion itself becomes entirely indirect. I do not send soldiers into churches; I send workers into the factories they now own. By changing the economic foundation, the spiritual superstructure shifts naturally.
– The death of faith is passive, not forced: Because religion is merely a symptom of a miserable world, it does not need to be violently suppressed. When you heal the sick patient, you no longer need the painkiller. Therefore, the elimination of religion is a passive, natural process of withering away once human suffering and alienation are erased from the Earth.
Among American citizens, provision should be made for civilian employees of the U.S. Government posted abroad, for spouses living in country with them, for servicemen, and for spouses of servicemen living with them. Miscellaneous American citizens, living abroad, no. People who fit this description would declare a voting domicile in the United States (it might be a residence which they own, a residence which they rent, or a residence at which they are guests of the owner). Their domicile would determine their notional voting precinct and the content of ballots sent to them in the mail. In correspondence between the local board of elections and the registrant, mail to the registrant would be sent to their palpable address or through the U.S. Government’s intramural postal system.
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A similar system could be used for those under 25 enrolled at a campus with residences and those otherwise eligible but whose palpable residence was in institutional group quarters. For the former, their palpable residence might be anywhere in the world. For the latter, it would have to be in the same state as their voting domicile.
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Persons whose doctor was willing to attest on a standard form that they were homebound could set up a standing order for a postal ballot, renewable quadrennially. Those whose work supervisor was willing to attest on a standard form were out of the county overnight for at least 50 days a year could also set up such a standing order. Otherwise, people should be voting in person.
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For those due a postal ballot, their ballots and return mailers &c should be in the mail to them by 15 September. Clerks from each side of the board of elections can conduct signature verification on returned ballots as they arrive, locking away approved returns in one set of cabinets (each with two locks – one for the Democratic commissioner of elections and one for the Republican commissioner). Rejected returns can be placed in another locked cabinet. Ballots arriving too late to be tabulated can be placed in a 3d set of cabinets and kept for eventual return to sender. Your last round of signature verification might take place at time prior to 6:00 pm on the day in-person voting is due to begin.
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We benefit from more voting precincts. New York at one time had one for every 1,000 persons. One for every 2,000 persons should be a minimum. Have the polls open from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm Friday evenings and from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm on Saturday. Entry to the queue in a precinct ends at 6:00 pm and you can begin tabulating once the queue has cleared. Approved postal ballots can be transported to a central facility and tabulated on the afternoon of the Saturday on which in-person voting takes place, to be completed before polls are closed.
OT
Obama judge tosses DOJ suit re Alaska election.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2026/11/just-obama-judge-tosses-alaska-lawsuit-decoy-dan/
The globalist strategy is becoming clear after Brazil, Poland, France, Spain, UK and increasingly in the United States with Obama and Autopen judges.
Appoint political/radical judges who ignore the law and appear to be engineering a judicial coup over other branches of government. They aren’t legislators and they are not the executive, but they seem to think they can take over those roles.
It’s not as if the Pope were going to serve as a federal judge. We don’t screen voters for having interests and loyalties that don’t exactly match those of the jurisdiction they are voting in.
Did you know that Mexico forbids clergy from voting? Obviously, it’s a very Catholic country, but apparently the Church backed the losing side in one of their revolutions back when.
No, the war against the Church occurred during the period running from 1924 to 1940, which was after the Mexican Civil War.
Anti clericalism in Mexico is an interesting topic. Overview:
Pay back for all the money catholic NGO s got from Biden
“THE BRACERO PROGRAM DID NOT COVER MINING”
The Salud Carbajal Immigration Discrepancy
The specific transition regarding Congressman Salud Carbajal’s father represents the core of a localized investigative controversy. Rep. Carbajal has stated that his family legally immigrated from Mexico to a small copper mining town in Arizona around 1970 (when he was 5 years old) under the auspices of the Bracero Program. The Bracero Program officially ended in December 1964—six years before the family’s reported 1970 arrival, and a month after Carbajal was born. Official biographies note his father worked in an underground copper mine in Arizona before moving to California to do farmwork. THE BRACERO PROGRAM DID NOT COVER MINING. An industrial worker would have required a separate H-2 employer petition or a lawful permanent residency (Green Card) application. In 2019, Carbajal shared a childhood photo on social media, identifying it as the picture from his 1970 Green Card. Local reporting by the Santa Barbara Current pointed out that the ink stamp on the photo translates to the “Department of Police” from Mexico, rather than a U.S. INS entry or permanent residency stamp.
Because individual immigration files (known as “A-Files”) are protected under strict federal privacy laws, the exact applications, visas, or adjustment forms filed by Carbajal’s father to move between the Arizona mines and California fields remain unreleased to the public.
Clergymen of all sorts should be very chary about any kind of political involvement and any kind of political remark. The Pope is the Bishop of Rome and the Holy See’s properties have been recognized by the Italian government as extraterritorial, a recognition which is seconded by scores of countries the world over.
He’s the chief executive of a recognized sovereign body in Europe. He also took out Peruvian citizenship decades ago. This is obscene.
Can the Pope vote in US election? Yes if he is a legal resident and followed all absentee rules.
Should the Pope vote, only if he keeps his ballot vote totally secret. That’s up to each Pope’s morals.
None of this should be true.