VATICAN CITY (The Thursday Times) — Pope Leo XIV has cast a mail-in ballot in the US midterm elections, becoming the first pope ever to vote in an American election, the Vatican said on Friday.
“The Holy Father expresses his belief in the right and the duty of citizens to participate in democratic processes,” the Holy See Press Office said, adding that he had always voted as a US citizen whenever he was eligible, including during his years as a missionary in Peru.
The Chicago-born pontiff, the first American to lead the Catholic Church, requested his ballot from the Will County Clerk’s Office in Illinois on October 3, NBC News reported. Less than two weeks later he had surgery to remove the lower lobe of his right lung after a cancer diagnosis; doctors have since said he needs no further treatment, and the Vatican says he will travel to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru in early November as planned.
Leo, 71, has clashed with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement and the US-Israeli war with Iran. After he called for peace following the strikes on Iran in April, President Donald Trump said: “I don’t think he’s doing a very good job,” adding, “I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo.” The Pope replied that the Church’s mission was “to preach the Gospel, to preach peace”.
The midterms on November 3 will decide control of Congress for the last two years of Trump’s presidency, with polls suggesting Democrats are favoured to win the House of Representatives.
