“Whoa, Luke!” I can hear some readers exclaiming, “Francis is not perfect, but we don’t need to attack Catholics.”
As an Evangelical Christian, it is true that I find many issues with the Roman Catholic Church (RCC). Be that as it may, this article is one piece of Evangelical writing with which I suspect many Catholics will largely, if not entirely, find themselves in agreement – and it is not an attack on Catholics at large. A growing rift has caused many Catholics to openly question, distance themselves from, or outright reject Pope Francis, and with good reason. This piece will explore some of the more drastically anti-Christian, progressive, and globalist ideologies which have been shared by Francis. But first, let us consider a brief history which speaks to my original point: recognizing the Pope as a sellout has well-established historic precedent – even within the RCC. In 897 AD, Pope Formosus sat on trial at the hands of his successor… well, kinda. See, Formosus had died several months prior to his trial, but he was viewed as having been such a problematic leader that his successor, Pope Stephen VI, had his body exhumed, dressed, and placed on trial. Even earlier in history, during the year of 682 AD, Pope St. Leo II officially declared that Pope Honorius I had been a heretic. For many people in both modern times and the 600-900’s AD, these cases of blatant corruption, power-grabbing, and spiritual failure lead to serious doubts about the RCC’s alleged authority and the Popes position as the Vicar of Christ who held the capability to exercise Papal Infallibility. But that is a different discussion for another time – for now, it will suffice to understand that both Evangelicals and Catholics recognize that it is very much possible to have a heretical, problematic, and/or derelict Pope. Let’s examine the sad reality that we have one such Pope in 2025.
Pope Francis is no stranger to self-made controversy, and for the first 5-8 years of his reign, he was mostly able to skate past the spotlight when it came to divisive statements and beliefs. For the past few years, though, even the ranks of Pope-splainers (meaning RCC members who emerge to clarify, soften, and change the messaging of a problematic stances taken by Francis) like Jimmy Akin have not been able to shield the Vicar from serious criticism both within and outside of the RCC.
Francis started his openly-progressive leadership with a less hard-fought issue by overtly speaking out against the death penalty with no exceptions provided. As is typical with leftwing politicians, a title which largely fits Francis, the downward spiral started carefully with a small step towards the slippery slope. Through the years, not only has Francis continually rejected the beliefs presented by the Bible, the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Roman Catechism, and various predecessors in regards to the death penalty, but he has added to his publicly shared modernist beliefs one by one.
Pope Francis has persistently sought to further his globalist-minded political activism by co-signing the commonly peddled mainstream narrative of global warming. Lest anyone question the political nature of Francis’s climate beliefs, he made a point of creating a public show in confronting President Trump. The bible is clear that humans are meant to be caretakers of the world God has made and a certain level of climate awareness is wise, to be sure. That said, Francis’s blank check endorsement of the fear-mongering, politicized, power grab is nothing short of reckless.
Supporting global scams and speaking out against positions held by both the Bible and the RCC are noteworthy missteps, but let’s get into the details of some good old fashioned heresy – a topic which is familiar to Francis. One of the most drastically anti-Biblical and anti-Catholic beliefs which Francis has repeatedly doubled down on is the claim that atheists who were “good men” are in heaven and that God is “proud” of such men. When a young boy asked Francis about the eternal fate of his atheist father who had passed away, Francis answered, “God has the heart of a father, your father was a good man, he is in heaven with Him, be sure. God has a father’s heart and, would God ever abandon a non-believing father who baptizes his children? God was certainly proud of your father, because it is easier to be a believer and have your children baptized than to be a non-believer and have your children baptized. Pray for your father, talk to your father. That is the answer.”
This statement is striking in its overtly anti-Christian sentiment, as it makes multiple claims that Catholics have historically disowned: 1) Atheists who were “good men” are in heaven. 2) God is proud of atheists who appease him by conducting the work of baptizing their children. 3) If God were to refuse heavenly dwelling to a “good” atheist, God would be guilty of “abandonment”. 4) It is not only possible for an atheist to be in heaven, but atheists can hear and receive prayers from earth-bound believers.
“But Luke,” you might say, “the Pope was merely comforting a grieving boy! Have a heart!” My answer to this charge is simple: the Pope is allegedly the Vicar of Christ – the ultimate earthly leader of the flock of God. It is unacceptable for a man who has been willingly elevated to such a position to speak so inaccurately and recklessly on a public stage – even when trying to comfort someone. Comforting a child with heretical lies is not a virtuous act – and a spiritually mature professional who claims the status of Vicar of Christ should know better. Furthermore, the Pope has repeated similar claims over time.
Francis continued his war against both Biblical theology and traditionalist Catholic beliefs during a CBS interview, when he said, “people are fundamentally good,” he would go on to explain that, “We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good,” The idea that humanity - meaning all humans with and without Christ - are fundamentally good with the exception of “some rogues and sinners” is entirely foreign to Christianity as a whole and to the specific history of Catholicism. The most striking problem with the Pontiff’s claim, which often gets ignored by Catholics and Protestants alike, is the assertion that goodness is the norm on earth while the exception is found in “some” sinners. The Bible is clear that all humans are sinners and God alone is fundamentally good - but Francis would have you believe nearly the exact opposite.
Like a theological boulder rolling downhill, Pope Francis has continually gained downward momentum and taken more drastic actions. During a 2024 visit to Asia, Francis claimed that, “Every religion is a way to arrive at God,” and clarified his stance by saying, “each of us is a language, so to speak, in order to arrive at God.” Francis also warned against a Christian asserting that “my religion is true… My God is more important than your god” and rather asserts that, “we are all sons and daughters of God.” As if these blatantly universalist ideas are not enough, the Vatican attempted to muddy the waters and cover their tracks by changing their official records of the English translation.
In a fashion similar to a toddler who wants to test the limits of their parents, Pope Francis has continually pushed an intentional – almost playful – attempt to explore the theological limits of the RCC community. In the now infamous declaration Fiducia Supplicans, Francis repeatedly asserted that same-sex couples can and should be blessed by the RCC, as long as the blessing does not take place in an official marriage ceremony. Pope-splainers like Joe Heschmeyer and Matt Fradd rushed to clarify what the Pope’s published words actually meant, with the leading argument being that Francis’s words called for blessing same-sex attracted individuals but refusing to bless sinful same-sex couples. The simple problem is that Fiducia Supplicans does not say anything like that. Several of the most damning quotes from Fiducia Supplicans read, “It is precisely in this context that one can understand the possibility of blessing couples in irregular situations and same-sex couples without officially validating their status…” and later, “Within the horizon outlined here appears the possibility of blessings for couples in irregular situations and for couples of the same sex, the form of which should not be fixed ritually by ecclesial authorities to avoid producing confusion with the blessing proper to the Sacrament of Marriage.” The declaration provided under the careful guidance of Pope Francis does not identify same-sex couples as being in sin a single time, it intentionally replaces the historical Catholic phrase “disordered unions” with the softer phrase “irregular situations,” and overtly endorses the blessing of same-sex couples. Pope-splainers can wriggle, writhe, and translate meanings all they want – the truth is, quite literally, there in black and white.
The most recent step taken on the global stage by Pope Francis saw him twist scripture and logic in order to support his progressive globalist beliefs. In his Letter to the Bishops of the United States of America, Francis offered the following instruction, “The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.” This sentence, which claims that an illegal immigrant must not be identified in any way with the idea of criminality, is so laughably nonsensical that, were it not the sincerely shared belief of the leader of the largest church on earth, it would make for a solid punchline on The Simpsons. But dwelling on this quote exposes a greater threat – the Pope laced his claims with a strong appeal to a moral absolute, when he noted that, “The rightly formed conscience cannot fail…” This type of claim is sloppy, destructive, and, given Francis’s history, malicious in its intent to lead others astray morally for political purposes. But it doesn’t end there. Another section of his letter sees the Pope stating that it is an attack on “the dignity of many men and women” for a government to deport illegal immigrants who have unlawfully entered their borders for reasons including “extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment.” In other words – anyone and everyone has the right to subjectively decide that they belong in your country as citizens, and if you disagree, you dishonor human dignity. This belief stands in stark contrast to the complex immigration guidelines established in the Old Testament and simple statements referencing national sovereignty in the New Testament. Francis continued his foray into politicized nonsense by comparing Holy Family – Jesus, Mary, and Joseph – to modern day illegal migrants. Not only is this comparison insulting, but it is unfounded historically and logically since both Egypt and Judea were a part of the Roman Empire when the Holy Family fled to the land of Egypt.
As was stated in the opening of this article, while the failures of the Pope and the Magisterium will justifiably point readers away from the RCC, the majority of this writing can and should be both understood and accepted by Protestants and Catholics. To their credit, influential sources including but not limited to Trent Horn and Michael Knowles have begun to question the direction that Francis is leading his flock. While examining Francis’s letter concerning immigration, the openly Catholic Knowles remarked, “This is a very confusing statement… Maybe something is just lost in translation here. I think that’s probably a way to understand this… It’s a little unclear, something perhaps has been lost in translation.” This seems to be a tacit, albeit meek, recognition that Francis has largely failed in his leadership. The unfortunate reality for Catholics like Knowles is simply this: nothing has been lost in translation and the statement is not confusing – the situation is much worse than that. The translation is clear, as is the general message: Pope Francis is a globalist-minded progressive who is 100% OK with leveraging, twisting, and misrepresenting the Word of God for political purposes. Evangelical Christians would point out that this is a recurring feature, not a bug, to be found within the RCC. But that discussion will have to wait. For now, can we all just acknowledge the obvious truth? Pope Francis is a heretical, globalist, progressive.
