‘It’s part of who I am’: PM heads for Rome as questions raised about his faith

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has cited his Catholic childhood as a key influence on his approach to government as he heads to Rome for the inaugural mass of Pope Leo XIV amid heightened attention on his faith.

Albanese, whose mother was a devout Catholic, said that church teachings on helping the vulnerable had shaped his politics – and he revealed that they triggered a key moment in the election campaign.

Anthony Albanese departs St Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne after Pope Francis’ death in April.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Speaking to this masthead on the Inside Politics podcast, the prime minister said the separation of church and state was one reason he was sworn into office with an affirmation rather than with a Bible.

But he added that his “no one left behind” mantra was underpinned by a moral imperative to use the tools of government to lift people up.

The comments come as Albanese prepares to meet world leaders on the sidelines of the mass in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican this Sunday, when Pope Leo will mark the start of his papacy.

“It’s a part of who I am, my upbringing,” he said when asked about the Catholic faith.

“During the campaign, one of the statements I made that resonated – indeed, during the Channel Nine debate – was that kindness isn’t weakness.

“And that really is something that’s a part of how I was raised in the Catholic faith about having compassion and kindness for people, particularly vulnerable people.”

The prime minister’s visit to Rome has heightened attention on his faith after Albanese attended church several times at Easter to mark the death of the previous pontiff, Pope Francis.

In a sign that the prime minister’s critics are focusing on questions of faith, Sky News host Paul Murray spent seven minutes of his program on Tuesday night discussing footage of Albanese being sworn into office with an affirmation rather than the Bible. The host called the prime minister “each way Albo” because he had attended church on other occasions.

Albanese said he did not make his Catholic background part of his position as prime minister.

“I believe in a separation of church and state,” Albanese said in the video and podcast interview with this masthead, recorded on Tuesday afternoon.

“I’ve always chosen to do an affirmation, because I think that, as the Australian prime minister, I represent people of every faith and no faith. That’s a personal decision.”

Albanese noted that Early Childhood Minister Anne Aly, who is Muslim, chose to swear on the Koran and that other ministers make their own choices when they are sworn into parliament and the ministry.

The prime minister has often said that he was raised with three faiths: the Labor Party, the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team, and the Catholic Church. He went to St Mary’s Cathedral school in central Sydney and described himself in the past as a cultural Catholic. As prime minister, he has attended church in Canberra and went to a Sunday mass in Rio de Janeiro when he was in the city for the G20 summit last November.

Speaking to this masthead, he said his mother had been deeply engaged in the visit to Australia by Pope Paul VI in 1970.

“It will be an incredible honour for me to be at Pope Leo’s inaugural mass,” Albanese said.

“I have in my office … a papal blessing that my mother sent away for to the Vatican from Pope Paul VI, who visited Australia, of course, and went to my street, Pyrmont Bridge Road, Camperdown, because the Children’s Hospital was across the road.

“And that was a great moment in my mum’s life. I remember it very deeply, and I still have the book that my mum had. All the memorabilia from the papal visit at that time is one of my cherished possessions.”

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