SHRINE TO SUFFERING Pope Francis traveled extensively, visiting as many as 60 countries, and became the first pontiff ever to set foot in Iraq where, surrounded by shells of destroyed churches, he led prayers for the victims of war in Mosul, which had recently been liberated from ISIS.


Pope Francis had a particular dislike of American conservativism, despite its vigorous defense of Christianity.


visiting as many as 60 countries. He became the first pontiff ever to set foot in the Arabian Peninsula (the United Arab Emirates) and Iraq and was unafraid to travel to dangerous places, visiting Egypt at a time of heightened Islamist terrorism, and the Central Afri- can Republic during a civil war. He visited communist Cuba


twice, the second time making history by being the first pope to meet the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church since the Great Schism of 1054. For reasons unknown, he nev-


er returned to his native Argen- tina as pope.


Grudge Against the U.S. Francis’ relationship with the


United States was always cool at best. Although he made a largely successful visit to the country in 2015, he holds a common Latin American grudge against its more prosperous, neoliberal northern neighbor. He had a particular dislike


was needed for it to bear fruit and highlighted limited success- es, but as it waited, it held back from publicly criticizing China’s human rights abuses, or com- ing to the defence of two promi- nent Catholics persecuted by the CCP: Jimmy Lai and Cardinal Joseph Zen. Wall Street Journal columnist


Bill McGurn called the approach a “disaster” and “demoralizing.” Francis traveled extensively,


of American conservativism, despite its vigorous defense of Christianity, and expressed a preference early on in his pon- tificate for more “moderate” (i.e., progressive) bishops in the U.S. He said in 2019 it was “an hon-


or that Americans attack me.” The pope received President


Donald Trump at the Vatican in 2017, but his preferred candidate in that election was the socialist populist Bernie Sanders, whom Francis invited, against the wishes of Obama administration


diplomats, to speak at the Vati- can during the 2016 presidential campaign. Four years later, his prefer-


ence for former President Joe Biden was clear, and the two had a close alliance, despite Catholic Biden’s public stance on abortion, same-sex marriage, and other issues opposed to the church’s teachings.


Progressive Globalist Critics have said Francis’ close-


ness to Democrat-run globalism weakened the church’s position on critical moral issues, such as abortion, gender ideology, and a host of other concerns, and that it epitomized his friendship with worldly powers and values in general. The pope’s position on the


COVID-19 vaccine, insisting that to be inoculated was an “act of love” while having the Vatican stage a conference with Big Phar- ma CEOs, was just one example of problematic complicity. The Vatican drew especially


close to the UN, including its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that advocate contracep- tion and reproductive rights — code for abortion. Under Francis, the Vatican


had a close alliance with popu- lation control advocates, such as SDGs chief architect Jeffrey Sachs, who became a frequent visitor and trusted adviser. “All this and more demon-


strates a line of obsequiousness to the current system of social


APRIL 2025 | NEWSMAX 63


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100