Weekly News Recap - May 9th 2025
Everything you need to know about Pope Leo XIV, Friedrich Merz stumbles in Germany, and tensions between India and Pakistan escalate. Read the news here:
In this week’s news recap:
Robert Francis Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV
Friedrich Merz elected Chancellor of Germany
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalate
Robert Francis Prevost becomes Pope Leo XIV - First American Pope
Just after 6 p.m. local time on a sunny Thursday evening, white smoke rose to the sky in the Vatican: A new Pope had been elected.
About an hour later, Cardinal Prevost walked out onto the Balcony as the first American Pope, Leo XIV. It’s a result that was long unthinkable, especially with America’s current standing in the world
Where does Pope Leo the XIV stand?
A site assessing the positions of cardinals from a scale of 0 (very liberal) to 100 (ultra conservative) has given Cardinal Prevost a rating of 39 and categorized him as moderately progressive. (39 is also the exact average rating for all voting cardinals, so Prevost is a real consensus choice)
He shares many of Pope Francis’ beliefs, like being a pope for the poor, helping migrants and advocating for the fight against climate change. His stances on women’s roles in the church and LGBTQ+ issues are more conservative, although some of his positions have yet to be clarified.
Is he Trump-friendly?
Most likely not. Pope Leo XIV was born in Chicago but also has citizenship in Peru, where he served for decades. Past social media posts indicate his dissatisfaction with Trump’s immigration policies and some of JD Vance’s remarks. At one point, he posted an article saying, „JD Vance is wrong…“
Pope Leo XIV has a diverse ethnic background
Why the world still has to wait for the first black or Asian Pope, Leo XIV does bring a diverse ethnicity to the papacy.
His maternal grandparents were people of color (Creole descent), and his father was a WWII veteran of French and Italian descent. So Leo XIV, the first American Pope, is a real melting-pot American, representing the diversity the country has to offer. A diversity that is currently under attack by its President.
Merz becomes Germany’s chancellor - and stumbles
Friedrich Merz of the center-right CDU became Germany’s new chancellor this week after winning February’s election and forming a coalition with the center-left SPD. But Merz's election to become Chancellor in the Bundestag (parliament) came with a big surprise.
Against many expectations, Merz failed to win the needed majority of 316 votes, only winning 310. His slim coalition holds 328 seats, meaning there were at least 18 holdouts. It was the first time in history that a candidate for chancellor didn’t win in the first round. After the upset, the CDU rushed to get the 2nd round done on the same day, which Merz won.
Still, the historic stumble marks a difficult start for Germany’s new leading man. After breaking campaign promises related to the debt ceiling and voting with the far-right AFD ahead of the election (a taboo in German politics), his approval is at a low point: Only about 30% think he’s the right chancellor. Almost no chancellor had to start the four-year term with such a negative approval rating.
Escalation between India and Pakistan
Tensions between India and Pakistan escalated following the April 22 Pahalgam attack, where 26 civilians died in Indian-administered Kashmir. India attributed the attack to Pakistan-based militants and targeted alleged terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Pakistan denied involvement and accused India of unprovoked aggression, leading to retaliatory strikes along the Line of Control. The situation has intensified with cross-border drone and missile exchanges, civilian casualties, and diplomatic fallout. International calls for de-escalation have so far been unsuccessful, raising concerns about the potential for a broader conflict between the two nuclear-armed nations.