***Please take out a membership to support the light of truth.***
On 8 May 2025, I was praying in Notre-Dame Cathedral. I often visit the medieval Catholic Church when I am in Paris, and I just happened to be there with my mother when the white smoke began pouring out of the Sistine Chapel, where the papal conclave had gathered and the white smoke along with the ringing bells indicated a new pope had been elected.
I looked at my phone and saw a message from Monique Camarra, my friend in Italy who I had just spent the previous few days with and who spent hours explaining to me that my fears were unwarranted. I had lost sleep over the fact that a QAnon-linked conspiracist Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò was being pushed by such US traitors as Mike Flynn, and Monique told me that the next pope would be a pope for the entire church throughout the world, and not a fringe actor.
When I looked at her message and saw that the new pope was American, I somehow knew immediately in my heart that he would be a counterweight to Trump’s relentless evil.
It was exciting to be in Notre Dame at that moment. A celebratory mass began and I hit my knees and offered prayers of thanks. In May of 2025, we needed something good to happen.
Pope Leo XIV is a thoughtful, smart, decent human, an American from Chicago born Robert Francis Prevost, and not one of the pro-Russian propaganda QAnon superspreader frauds like Viganò, who was excommunicated from the church on 5 July 2024 for the canonical crime of schism.
We live in a time of tyrannical cruelty, and although he’s just one man running a 2,000-year-old organization with a blighted history, to me, Pope Leo’s arrival was significant.
And he has not disappointed: he’s used his position to condemn the Trump regime’s war in Iran, to warn that AI unchecked threatens human dignity and depersonalizes modern warfare.
On Palm Sunday, he gave a remarkable sermon.
“This is our God: Jesus, King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them, saying: ‘Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen: your hands are full of blood’.”—Pope Leo on Palm Sunday, Vatican City
And in his encyclical, which is historically a letter to Catholic bishops but now a letter to the world, Pope Leo wrote:
In particular, some journalists, driven by a passion for truth, have played a crucial role in bringing injustices and abuses to light. To them, I wish to repeat the words that Pope Francis used in speaking to journalists: “I also thank you for what you tell us about what goes wrong in the Church, for helping us not to sweep it under the carpet, and for the voice you have given to the victims of abuse.” [146] Yet vigilance and transparency remain first and foremost a grave responsibility for the Church herself, and we must not wait for others to compel us to confront uncomfortable truths about ourselves.
When I read that, I was momentarily speechless.
I have spent the past decade fighting for the survival of truth, and on 5 November 2024, my own country abandoned me on the battlefield. Journalists were replaced with Russian subcontractors — bad actors who had received millions directly from Russia were given all access passes to the White House and the Pentagon.
So for the Pope to praise the Fourth Estate when it is under global siege in a multi-front war was important. Even more so today as Trump and his loyalists are tightening media control.
In his encyclical, Pope Leo spoke about disarming AI like a new nuclear arms race.
“The word (disarming) is strong, I know, but deliberately chosen because this moment needs words capable of attracting attention,” he said.
“If the human being is treated as something to be perfected or
surpassed, it becomes easier to accept that some lives are less useful, less desirable or less worthy,” he continued. “In the name of progress, ‘necessary sacrifices’ may begin to be justified, placing the burden on the most vulnerable in pursuit of a supposed optimization of the species. … For this reason, a clear distinction must be made. It is one thing to integrate technology within a human-centered, relational vision; it is quite another to be guided by an outlook that devalues human limits and promises a purely technical form of ‘salvation.’”
Although the Pope focuses his letter on AI, he also apologized for the Catholic Church’s past wrongs, namely slavery.
On behalf of the Vatican, he humbly asked for a pardon.
And he sees what I see, how the authoritarian ringleaders are pro-enforced labor, as he wrote about slavery in relation to AI — noting the threat of “new digital slaveries” leading to the exploitation of people.
The encyclical was aptly named “Magnifica Humanitas” (”Magnificent Humanity”), and I encourage you to read it.
I am offering these reminders of the words of Pope Leo today, as he arrives in Paris.
An American in Paris, the first visit by a pope in 18 years.
According to reports, his itinerary includes a visit to Notre Dame and the Catholic shrine at Lourdes, along with delivering a speech calling for global regulations on AI, Europe’s future, and meeting with leaders to “repair the church’s standing after abuse scandals in France."
He was just greeted by Emmanuel Macron on the tarmac, as church bells rang throughout France.
Macron is another world leader who understands the times in which we live.
The Pope told reporters on the plane that he was coming to France as an emissary for peace, a “particularly important” message at this moment in time.
In May, I brought white roses for Pope Leo to Rome on a Sunday, a year after he was elected.
It was a small gesture. I, too, came in peace.
****
****
Bette Dangerous is a reader-funded magazine. Thank you to all monthly, annual, and founding members.
I expose the corruption of billionaire fascists with support from your memberships.
Thank you in advance for considering the following:
Share my reporting with your networks
Buying my ebooks
A private link to an annual membership discount for older adults, those on fixed incomes or drawing disability, as well as activists and members of the media is available upon request at bettedangerous/gmail. 🥹
More info about Bette Dangerous: This magazine is written by Heidi Siegmund Cuda, an Emmy-award winning investigative reporter, author, and broadcast news veteran, as well as former music and nightlife columnist for the Los Angeles Times. A No. 1 Amazon best-selling author and award-winning film director, Cuda writes the Hot Type column in Byline Times, an independent UK-newspaper. She executive produced the film Kherson: Human Safari. Thank you for your support of independent investigative journalism, arts, and culture reporting.
🤍
Begin each day with a grateful heart.
🤍
Robert Prevost during the consistory where he was created a cardinal, September 30, 2023. Photo courtesy Wikipedia
💗