Many of us do not think he is a pope or "vicar of Christ" (sedevacantism)
OP and those with views like him try to hold to a middle position we believe is contradictory, the idea that "Leo" is a pope who said the "Grand Mosque" is a "sacred space".
We think it is more consistent to consider Leo not to be Catholic or a pope. Popes in the past have had opposite "negative" things to say in contrast to "Leo's" words:
> In contrast Pope Clement V, at the Council of Vienne stated:
> “It is an insult to the holy name and a disgrace to the Christian faith that in certain parts of the world subject to Christian princes where Saracens [Muslims] live, sometimes apart, sometimes intermingled with Christians, the Saracen priests, commonly called Zabazala, in their temples or mosques, in which the Saracens meet to adore the infidel Mahomet, loudly invoke and extol his name each day at certain hours from a high place… This brings disrepute on our faith and gives great scandal to the faithful. These practices cannot be tolerated without displeasing the divine majesty.”
https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2026-04/pope-leo-apostolic-journey-algeria-grand-mosque-algiers-dialogue.html
If that man is the vicar of Jesus Christ, the Christian religion is a fraud.
OP and those with views like him try to hold to a middle position we believe is contradictory, the idea that "Leo" is a pope who said the "Grand Mosque" is a "sacred space".
We think it is more consistent to consider Leo not to be Catholic or a pope. Popes in the past have had opposite "negative" things to say in contrast to "Leo's" words:
> In contrast Pope Clement V, at the Council of Vienne stated:
> “It is an insult to the holy name and a disgrace to the Christian faith that in certain parts of the world subject to Christian princes where Saracens [Muslims] live, sometimes apart, sometimes intermingled with Christians, the Saracen priests, commonly called Zabazala, in their temples or mosques, in which the Saracens meet to adore the infidel Mahomet, loudly invoke and extol his name each day at certain hours from a high place… This brings disrepute on our faith and gives great scandal to the faithful. These practices cannot be tolerated without displeasing the divine majesty.”