Good question.
The pope is, after all, an absolute monarch; he possesses, as the Vatican’s Fundamental Law explains, “the fullness of the power of government, which includes the legislative, executive, and judicial powers” of the Vatican City State — a sovereign country that maintains relations with over 175 other nations — and the Holy See, which is the central governing authority of the Church.
Paul Hunker, an American immigration attorney and a Catholic, told CNA that U.S. federal law — specifically 8 U.S. Code § 1481 — spells out some very specific conditions under which a U.S. citizen can lose his or her citizenship.
These can include committing an act of treason, obtaining naturalization in a foreign state, and, crucially, accepting a position as a foreign head of state. The key, though, is that in order to be “expatriating,” these things must be done by a person voluntarily and with the intention of relinquishing their U.S. nationality.
The U.S. State Department says it generally presumes that U.S. citizens, even if they accept a foreign government post, want to keep their citizenship unless “clearly and credibly” established otherwise.
Hunker said in the pope’s case, Leo would likely need to affirm an intention to renounce his citizenship directly to a consular officer at the U.S. embassy in Rome — something Leo has not signaled any intention to do.
“I think unless he comes forward and says, ‘I have the intention of relinquishing my U.S. nationality,’ then he is not considered to have lost his U.S. citizenship,” Hunker said.
“At a deep level, I think it says something great about our country: When you’re born here, the government can’t kick you out — unless you affirmatively say that you’re renouncing your citizenship.”
It remains to be seen whether he will use one of the rights of that citizenship and vote. He has continued to do so as cardinal:
The newly elected pontiff, Pope Leo XIV, has not only cast ballots in the papal conclave, but in U.S. elections as well.
The Chicago-born pope — formerly Cardinal Robert F. Prevost — is registered to vote in the Chicago suburb of New Lenox, Ill., and has a mixed voting history of participating in primaries for both parties, according to voting records shared with CBS News and data from the Illinois State Board of Elections.
There is no party registration in Illinois, but to vote in a primary you have to choose a party’s ballot to vote on. Prevost has voted in more Republican primaries than Democratic, and the last primary election he voted in was the 2016 Republican presidential primary.
He last voted in the 2024 general election, though it is not known what party he voted for.
This is according to records, shared with CBS News by GOP consultant Jared Small, of Prevost’s files from “L2 Data,” a paid service used by political campaigns that has access to individual voter files provided by each state. CBS News has reached out to the Will County Clerk’s Office for copies of this data as well.
He voted in the Republican primaries in 2012, 2014 & 2016, including the presidential primaries in 2012 and 2016.
L2 Data records show he last voted in a Democratic primary in 2010. He had also voted in the party’s presidential primary in 2008.
He has voted in at least nine general elections, including in five presidential election cycles: 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2024. There’s no record of him voting in the 2016 or 2020 general election.
And there is this:
Prevost is registered to vote in Illinois; in that state, voters do not register with a party affiliation. However, they declare a party affiliation when voting in a primary. County records show Prevost voted in three Republican primaries from 2012 through 2016, the most recent records we obtained.
Still, the Illinois State Board of Elections says that when voters participate in primaries, they are not formally registered to a party.
No one is registered by party affiliation in Illinois and evidence is scant about Prevost’s voting history over his lifetime.
