Pope Leo XIV’s older brother has a history of sharing anti-trans and right-wing content on social media, including content calling the parents of trans children “sh*tty”.

Facebook posts shared by Louis Martin Prevost have come under scrutiny following his brother, Robert, becoming the new head of the Catholic Church.

Following the death of 88-year-old Pope Francis in April, Chicago-born Robert Prevost – who holds dual American and Peruvian citizenship – became the first person from the US to be elected as pope after a two-day papal conclave.

Social media posts by the older Prevost were uncovered by journalists and sit in contradiction to Leo XIV’s reported political positions.

One post is a reshared video calling Democratic congresswoman and, former US house speaker, Nancy Pelosi a “drunk c**t”, another is an anti-LGBTQ+ meme that reads: “Your child isn’t trans, you’re just a sh*tty parent,” The Guardian reported.

A third post accused former president Barack Obama and the Democrats of “longing for the total destruction of our way of life and turning this country into a dictatorship, and a racist one on top of it”.

The posts have seemingly been made private on Prevost’s Facebook account, in the face of the increased attention, but he confirmed their existence in several press interviews, saying they were his opinions, not those of the new pope.

Describing himself as a conservative, he told The New York Times that he and his brother disagreed on some things.

“I think he’s going to be similar to Francis but maybe not quite as liberal-minded, you know, flexing the Church rules quite so much,” Prevost predicted of his brother’s papacy. “I think he’d be a little more conservative.”

Prior to becoming pope, Robert Prevost criticised president Donald Trump, including in 2018 resharing a statement that criticised the administration’s policy that allowed immigration authorities to separate families at the US-Mexico border.

However, Leo XIV does not seem to be as forward thinking on queer issues as his predecessor. Francis left behind a complex legacy regarding support for the community but he was notably responsible for softening the Church’s language on LGBTQ+ people, such as with his famous “who am I to judge?” statement.

Following Prevost’s election, The New York Times reported that in 2012 he was critical of entertainment media, saying it held “sympathy for beliefs and practices that are at odds with the gospel,” including the “homosexual lifestyle” and “alternative families comprised of same-sex partners and their adopted children”.

Despite these views, LGBTQ+ Catholics have expressed hope that his “opinions and ideas can change”.

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