Local priests reflect on first American pope

FARMINGTON — With the excitement for Pope Leo XIV — the first pope from the U.S. — still reverberating, C & G Newspapers met with two local priests to hear their thoughts on the new pontiff, the impact on their parishes and their hopes for the new papacy.

Sharing their perspective were Monsignor Timothy Hogan, pastor of St. Fabian Catholic Church in Farmington, and Andrew Dawson, priest of Prince of Peace in West Bloomfield.

The College of Cardinals voted to make Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost the pope May 8, after the April 21 death of Pope Francis.

Prevost was born on the south side of Chicago and grew up in a suburb of the Windy City.

“It is just wonderful for us to have an American pope for the first time,” Dawson said. “It allows us to view the church in a closer way, because oftentimes we can think of the Vatican and the pope — the Holy Father — being something distant from us and distant from our own experience.”

According to Dawson, the pope has visited some of the local parishes throughout his tenure as a priest, and this has given him insight on the people in the community.

“He understands Michigan people and Chicago people — the way that we think, the way that we talk,” Dawson said. “He understands us and our lives.”

Having a leader with this knowledge and empathy in the Vatican is important, he said.

“It’s a beautiful thing,” Dawson added.

The pope has served in Peru and Italy, traveling extensively around the world.

“His experience is quite global,” Hogan said. “He has a global perspective of much of the church.”

Hogan said he was still surprised the College of Cardinals elected him, but said, “I think we are very pleased (with the choice) in the archdioceses.”

Neither Dawson nor Hogan knew of Leo XIV before he became pope.  Dawson explained one of the reasons for this.

The pope was a priest within the Augustinian Order, with its own focus areas that include education, ministering to the poor and others. This is what sent the new pope to Peru when he was still a priest, working with impoverished communities there.

Dawson is a diocesan priest, which means he is ordained as a priest in a particular diocese, and although he may change churches, he stays within that diocese.

It has been reported that the number of Catholics and those attending Mass are decreasing steadily in the United States. Hogan hopes to see that trend reverse.

“Within my own parish, I certainly see a fervor for the church right now,” Dawson said. “We are growing.”

The Catholic Church has gotten global attention in the past few months. Dawson said that both Catholics and non-Catholics were focused on the papal deliberations in Rome.

The papacy holds great responsibility, he added, noting the uniqueness of the role.

“There is no one you can turn to and ask, ‘How did you do this? How did you do that?’” Dawson said.

The pope’s chosen name — Leo XIV — shows affinity for the papacy of Leo XIII, Dawson said. Leo XIII was known for his historic encyclical, “Rerum Novarum,” where he addressed the rights and duties of capital and labor during the Industrial Revolution.

Although there may be influences from previous popes, both Hogan and Dawson noted that Leo’s papacy will be his own. Both priests shared their hopes for the new pope.

“My prayer is that he would be incredibly open to the Grace of the Holy Spirit in his life and in his ministry,” Hogan said.  “That he will continue to convey that as he has from the start, so that others in this world — both Catholics, non-Catholics and people of goodwill — will be drawn together in the human family with incredible respect and dignity.”

Dawson agreed.

“My prayer is that people will be open to listening,” Dawson said. “The Holy Father needs our prayers, and he needs our support. We build the church together with God.”