whom support liberal positions at odds with the church’s teach- ings, to later weigh in to express their admiration for the Argen- tine pontiff . Francis had a clear ideological


vision. The church’s teaching, he wrote in his 2013 manifesto apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), must “radiate forcefully and at- tractively” but not be based — al- though it ultimately has been — on “specifi c ideological options.” He aimed to create a more


listening church, an “inverted pyramid” that took the people of God as its starting point — in sum, a grand vision of decen- tralization ostensibly geared toward creating a more demo- cratic, localized church “per- manently in a state of mission” and seemingly capable of deal- ing with the complexities of the faith and human relationships in the world today. But critics warned that such


an approach was more akin to a Protestant model that departed from the church’s apostolic tra- dition, threatening to under- mine Rome’s authority and the hierarchy in general. Cardinals expressed alarm,


notably after a synod on the fam- ily in 2014 was rigged to produce a radical and modernist ideolog- ical outcome. More signifi cantly, in his ea-


gerness to embrace the progres- sive tenet of inclusivity and his own, broad concept of mercy, Francis often set aside canonical limits to papal power, especially when it came to defending some of his friends accused of clerical sex abuse, or in the area of the liturgy (on Holy Thursday, he


60 NEWSMAX | APRIL 2025


washed the feet of Muslims and women, which had previously never been allowed). He ruled autocratically, not


unusual for a pope who has all legislative, executive, and judi- cial powers, but Francis issued more papal decrees — not dis- similar to a president’s executive orders — than any pope in mod- ern history. Under his watch, bishops,


priests, religious, and laity who bore good fruit in terms of rev- erence, spiritual life, fi delity to Catholic doctrine, and booming vocations were often canceled or ostracized. “The more spiritual and su-


pernaturally orientated they are, the more persecution they seem to suff er,” a Portuguese priest told Newsmax on condition of ano- nymity due to fear of reprisals. “Meanwhile, in other quar-


ters, those who have committed abuses against doctrine, moral teaching, and the liturgy seem to go unpunished and have been al- lowed to thrive.” Francis has been criticized


for departing from apostolic tra- dition, not infrequently contra- dicting, or at least weakening, the church’s moral teaching and, on occasion, promoting indif- ferentism, the idea that all reli- gions are valid paths to God. It’s a belief long considered heresy in the church, as it undermines the unique role of Christ and the Catholic Church in salvation. Together with his strong be-


lief in what he called “synodal- ity” — a democratization of the church allowing Catholics, often untrained in theology and with progressive leanings, to have a signifi cant say in the church’s


FACE IN THE CROWD Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergoglio rides the subway in his native Argentina in 2008, fi ve years before he was elected pope. Francis, the fi rst pope from South America, had a cool relationship with the United States, harboring a dislike for its prosperity and conservatism.


future — Francis introduced am- biguities and allowed doctrinal confusion to reign with signifi - cant consequences. This became most evident in


Germany. A four-year “synodal way” there (2019-2023) led to the German Catholic Church voting to support the blessing of same- sex couples, a push toward the ordination of women as priests, revisions of sexual morality, the abolition of priestly celibacy,


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