By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin By — Dan Sagalyn Dan Sagalyn By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara By — Veronica Vela Veronica Vela By — Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold By — Sonia Kopelev Sonia Kopelev By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/video/compass-points/2026/04/pope-leos-political-voice-and-how-much-influence-he-holds Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Story Pope Leo XIV is the first American to lead the Catholic Church, and after nearly a year of advocating for the poor and cautiously opposing controversial U.S. policies, Leo is offering a more public contrast with Trump. Compass Points moderator Nick Schifrin discusses the pope's first year and what his recent criticism says with Joseph Capizzi, Father Thomas Reese, Annie Selak and Stephen White. By — Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin Nick Schifrin is PBS News Hour’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Correspondent and serves as the host of Compass Points from PBS News. @nickschifrin By — Dan Sagalyn Dan Sagalyn As the deputy senior producer for foreign affairs and defense at the PBS NewsHour, Dan plays a key role in helping oversee and produce the program’s foreign affairs and defense stories. His pieces have broken new ground on an array of military issues, exposing debates simmering outside the public eye. @DanSagalyn By — Madison Staten Madison Staten By — Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara Satvi Sunkara is a producer for PBS News. By — Veronica Vela Veronica Vela By — Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi Zeba Warsi is a foreign affairs producer, based in Washington DC. She's a Columbia Journalism School graduate with an M.A. in Political journalism. She was one of the leading members of the NewsHour team that won the 2024 Peabody award for News for our coverage of the war in Gaza and Israel. @Zebaism By — Juliet Fuisz Juliet Fuisz By — Alexa Gold Alexa Gold Alexa Gold is an associate producer for PBS News. By — Sonia Kopelev Sonia Kopelev By — Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert Zoie Lambert is an associate producer for PBS News.