IN MAY WHITE smoke rose above the Sistine Chapel indicating the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost to become Pope Leo XIV. He succeeded Pope Francis, who had spent more than a decade promoting a more open-minded outlook within the Roman Catholic church. From the beginning Leo signalled a change of tone, donning the traditional red mozzetta (a short cape) that Francis eschewed and reportedly choosing the grand Apostolic Palace over Francis’s modest apartment. Yet on many substantive issues—such as blessings for same-sex couples and attitudes to migration—he is following the progressive path of his predecessor.