The brother of Robert Prevost, a Chicago-born Roman Catholic Augustine cleric who last week became the newly-elected Pope Leo XIV, is facing heated criticism after some of his older Facebook posts resurfaced and revealed that he'd shared a video calling Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi a "drunk c**nt" as well as a transphobic meme about transgender children.
For instance, in an April 23 post, Prevost claimed that former President Obama desired “the total destruction of our way of life” and aimed to turn the U.S. into a dictatorship, adding that it would be “a racist one on top of it.” He had previously pushed a conspiracy theory alleging that “OBAMA WAS A CIA ASSET, PUT IN PLACE TO DESTROY THE USA.”
On April 4, Prevost posted an old video clip highlighting Pelosi’s earlier support for China tariffs—before her position changed—writing:
"“These fucking liberals crying about tariffs is just unreal. Do they not know that there is a thing called video? Just listen to what this drunk c*** has to say In the mid 90’s long before her husband had grindr dates.”
And on February 21, Prevost posted a meme along with the caption:
“Your child isn’t trans. You’re just a sh***y parent.”
Prevost faced immediate criticism online as many condemned his inflammatory posts.
Steve Morrison/Facebook
Joanna Mains/Facebook
The difference between the newly-minted Pope and his brother could not be more stark.
Pope Leo was criticized by MAGA supporters last week after they became aware of an article he once shared that criticized Vice President JD Vance because "Jesus doesn't ask us to rank our love for others."
Notably, the new Pope previously condemned the Trump administration on social media for Trump’s “anti-immigrant rhetoric” back in 2015. He later reposted messages criticizing the death penalty, mass deportations, and Congress’s failure to act on gun reform after mass shootings.
In his first address to the cardinals, he reaffirmed his commitment to the reforms of the Second Vatican Council, the landmark 1960s meetings that ushered the Catholic Church into the modern era. He named artificial intelligence as one of the defining issues of the current age, warning that it raises profound concerns about human dignity, justice, and the future of work.
