Unlike Pope Francis, who was relatively well-known to B'nai B'rith following on from their partnership when he was an archbishop in Buenos Aires, Pope Leo XIV has arisen from relative obscurity, especially from the perspective of the Jewish community. As such, there are many unknowns when it comes to his papal future.
However, David Michaels, B'nai B'rith's Director of UN and Intercommunal Affairs, told the Jerusalem Post that he felt "hopeful" after his meeting with the new appointee in the Vatican on Monday.
Having been inaugurated on Sunday, Pope Leo XIV met with a small interreligious audience on Monday.
According to Michaels, the pope has so far been more focused on internal affairs than external engagement. Despite having served as a bishop in Peru - a country with a not-insignificant Jewish community - the areas where he served had little to no Jewish presence.
"This was the first opportunity for us to hear from him both publicly and privately, both in terms of his style and substance," said Michaels. "My impression after today is hopeful, both based on formal remarks and my private interaction," he added.
Michaels told the Post that he was hoping that the new pope to "give due priority to the Jewish-Catholic friendship, and due sensitivity to issues such as Israeli-Palestinian conflict."
In the interreligious meeting itself, Pope Leo XIV, like his predecessors (Michaels attended the inauguration of Pope Francis in 2013) "gave special attention to the church's relation with Jewish people and affirmed his commitment to continue deepening the relationship, despite historical difficulties."
One on one, Michaels conveyed to him that the Jewish community is very eager to be full partners, not just in the narrow Catholic-Jewish relationship but also as partners in making peace in the Middle East and the wider world."
"I told him that it is critical that both sides of this difficult conflict be given the absolute care, sensitive and equal treatment that they deserve," Michaels told the Post. "That means the needs and rights of and issues facing the Israeli people, not just Palestinians."
However, Michaels said that he was left with a "strong impression" that the pope fully understood that, but hoped that the political context would allow him to treat this very high-profile issue with the sensitivity required.
"We hope and we trust that he will fulfil his obligations not just to his constituency, but that he will not neglect the needs of the Jewish people."
Changes and shifts in the Catholic world
Michaels also spoke of what he called a "shifting center of gravity" in the Catholic world. Having historically been centered in the West, in particular Western Europe, the focus is now moving more strongly to Africa, Asia, and Latin America, areas typically without large established Jewish communities.
This, Michaels pointed out, is an opportunity for progress and change, with the new pope ideally generating a forward-thinking attitude within his church. "The strength this pope can bring to this role is the fact that he was responsible for bishops around the world and served on the ground without any sizable Jewish presence."
"When there is eventually a pope from a country with a negligible Jewish population, it is imperative that we now ensure that those in the pews, seminarians, priests, and bishops are embracing and transmitting the message that Catholic-Jewish relations are singularly important."
While Michaels acknowledged that "miraculous progress has been made," he emphasized that this can only be sustained if the teaching and message of a new era goes from Rome to the Middle East.
It is this region in particular that presents a "tremendous systemic challenge," he told the Post.
"If you were to ask an average Christian in many of these [Middle Eastern] societies, unfortunately, I think you would find attitudes and perspectives that are quite unaligned with positive Catholic-Jewish relations," he said.
If the message of positive intercommunal relations is to reach these regions, it has to be transmitted from the nucleus, he stressed.
"Long term, I hope that both on the religious front and the political front the Catholic church will be a leader in promoting genuine respect for the religious legitimacy of the Jewish people, and also real and consistent partners in promoting respect for the national and political legitimacy of the Jewish people in the state of Israel."
Michaels said that in specific churches or streams, there is usually respect for one or the other, but that it is "relatively rare" to find respect for both.
Personality traits
The Post queried Michaels about whether the Pope's Americanness might positively shape his interreligious approach.
"The answer is we don't know," he said. "However, it is clear that he has a variety of diverse influences."
However, as an observer, he told the Post that the new pope has seemingly already taken a slightly different approach to the Russia-Ukrainian conflict than his predecessor, which could set a precedent for his approach to the war in Israel.
Michaels also noted that Pope Leo XIV seems to have a "less spontaneous and off-the-cuff style than Pope Francis," reading from a script at his inauguration yesterday.
This, however, could be a positive thing, as with a following of nearly 1.5 billion people and an even greater audience, weighing and calibrating what he says is doubtlessly important.