“Where their ancestors defended the pope from enemies of the faith, they now must defend the faith from a pope who aligns with her enemies.” – The Political Pope
It’s not surprising that the deep division we feel in the political and cultural arena would eventually bleed over to the church. The ascension of Pope Francis to the Vatican in 2013, would only hasten the dirtying of the holy water, as the Pope appeared all too eager to trade his papal tiara for partisan politics. When after only a few short months on the throne, Francis entered the fray after tweeting, “Inequality is the root of social evil”. A position, seemingly in direct conflict with Catholic teaching; the first of many, to be echoed in the months and years to come.
While previous popes tended to their religious duties, Francis had other priorities. His disdain for the capitalist rich and defense of the dependent poor comes without any consideration for the consequences, both good and bad, that led to their lot in life. Even as he has brought important attention to those in need, he has ignored the laissez-faire economic system that slashed global poverty to less than ten percent of mankind. And while he has focused on making the church more approachable and accessible, his personal philosophy has not always aligned with its doctrine.
In George Neumayr’s 2017 book, “The Political Pope”, Neumayr assesses some of the early changes the Francis reign has brought to the Catholic church. Tainted by communist and socialist philosophy from his early years in Argentina, Francis is ideologically driven to overhaul what he views as an antiquated system into a more modern (and progressive) way of thinking. After expelling conservatives from important positions in the church, he is well on his way to doing just that. Aligned with left-wing radicals, this Pope has made no secret of his distaste for theology and his passion for politics.
Pope Francis took his regnal name from Saint Francis of Assisi, as a sign of his environmental, pacifist, and activist aspirations. Beyond that, he has done little to tackle the laundry list of papal duties, from representing the church, defining faith issues, and uniting his flock. Instead, he has worked to liberalize church doctrine, while unraveling established mores. In doing so, he has created further division among the rank and file with his reluctance to support key Catholic issues like life, for fear of disappointing his liberal allies.
Despite his lack of expertise in matters of economics and industry, Francis has signaled his personal preference for global governance. A philosophical modernist, Francis eschews objective truth, a misguided notion that truth does not span time or place, instead favoring a more secular and revolving view of right and wrong. His go-to response of “Who am I to judge?”, leaves moral conduct to one's own discretion. And while he seems to have enormous compassion for those who have sinned, he has provided little support for the traditionalists in his flock, who conscientiously try to follow church teachings.
Liberation theology, a movement to introduce Marxist doctrine to poor peasants in Latin America, has been denounced by every pope, until Francis. Ion Mihai Pacepa, at the highest level of Romania’s secret police during Nicolae Ceausescu’s reign, first linked the establishment of Liberation Theology with the Soviet Kremlin under Khrushchev in his book, “Disinformation”, as a way to infiltrate the church and destroy it from the inside out. By using inequality to drive poor Latins towards socialism and away from capitalism, the Soviets hoped to undermine the wealthy West and, in particular, the United States. Francis was quick to signal his support when he entertained Liberation Theology acolytes at the Vatican following his installation.
Papolatry, which normally emanates from religious zealots within the fold, is now coming from the outside. Globalist elites, Hollywood, and US corporate media have all been bitten by the papal bug. Francis delighted his new fanbase when he called American President Donald Trump and his border wall racist and xenophobic. Odd, of course, coming from a pope who safely resides in his own walled fortress in Vatican City, which was built, ironically, centuries ago, to keep the plundering pirates out. Francis has further secured his place in left-wing lore with his support of environmental justice, gay marriage, cohabitation, and gun control, while his predecessors were keen to avoid political conflict unrelated to biblical morals and principles.
At a time when churches are bleeding out parishioners, Francis has only added to the downfall. Since Francis’s ascension, the Catholic church has seen the sharpest drop in mass attendance in the United States in recent decades; declines not seen in other denominations. For now, the church’s loss is the heretic’s gain.
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