Pope Benedict XVI held a synod in 2012 to discuss evangelisation in an increasingly secular world. One of the most dynamic speakers was an American priest named Robert Prevost. The then-leader of the Augustinian order delivered a brief but profoundly countercultural speech, criticising “Western mass media” for fostering sympathy with anti-Christian practices like “abortion, homosexual lifestyle, euthanasia”. With time the future pope evolved. “Doctrine hasn’t changed,” he told Catholic News Service after Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2023. “But we are looking to be more welcoming and more open.”