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As Pope Francis approaches death, millions of Catholics around the world put aside their differences with the man to pray for him. Some pray for what Catholics call a “happy death” free from mortal sin. Some pray for his return to health. Some pray for his conversion or repentance.
“It’s a sad thing to say but there should be no controversy whatsoever about people sincerely praying for the salvation of the pope’s soul,” said Frank Wright, a British Catholic journalist. “I see nothing but good intentions for that. I pray for the soul of the pope myself. It’s our duty.”
It might be a theological duty in Wright’s eyes. But is it a moral one?
As FrontPage Magazine has repeatedly reported, Francis is trying to turn the Catholic Church into a tool of globalist, materialist utopians at the expense of centuries of moral teaching, especially on homosexuality and abortion. In the process, Francis has used rhetorical duplicity to dupe well-meaning but naive Catholics while promoting his agenda.
Perhaps even worse, Francis and some of his episcopal appointments have demonstrated neither understanding about the consequences of their core policies nor compassion for their victims — such as those who have been prey for illegal migrants or clerical sex abusers, or Chinese Catholics who refuse to worship at the state-aligned churches the Vatican supports.
Does anybody pray for those victims and their families? Does anybody publicly advocate praying for them? Or is a pope so important that those victims and their families become anonymous?
Suppose Francis recovers to the point where he could resume his duties with minimal health problems. What is the likelihood he would fundamentally reverse course — which is what repentance actually means in Christian theology — and reject values and policies in which he energetically invested the fiber of his being?
And if he does repent, what would that repentance look like?
For one thing, Francis would have to cashier or excommunicate some of his closest advisors and episcopal appointments. Among them would be the Rev. James Martin, a papal communications advisor who uses social media to promote gender ideology, even subtly advocating transgender surgery for minors, and to dismiss biblical teaching against homosexuality.
Others would be Luxembourg Cardinal Jean-Claude Hollerich, another close advisor who publicly rejected biblical teaching on homosexuality. Joining Hollerich would be four members of the Vatican’s highest theological body, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, who support same-sex relationships and gender ideology. One of them, Cardinal Victor Fernandez, the prefect, even wrote blatant erotica disguised as theology.
Another leading prelate, Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, during his tenure as president of the Pontifical Council for the Family from 2012-2016, released a sex-education course for teens that one Catholic psychiatrist called “the most dangerous threat to Catholic youth that I have seen over the past 40 years.”
“As a professional who has treated both priest perpetrators and the victims of the abuse crisis in the Church,” Dr. Rick Fitzgibbons said, “what I found particularly troubling was that the pornographic images in this program are similar to those used by adult sexual predators of adolescents.”
In 2016, Francis promoted Paglia by making him the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life, founded by Pope John Paul II to fight abortion.
Francis’ rainbow platoon includes two of the United States’ most prominent prelates: Cardinal Robert McElroy, who becomes Washington D.C.’s new archbishop March 11, and Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich. In 2023, McElroy as the archbishop of San Diego, demanded “radical inclusion ” of LGBTQ Catholics regardless of whether they were sexually active. In response, Bishop Thomas Paprocki of Springfield, Ill. called McElroy a heretic and demanded his removal from church office.
Cupich went even further. He supports same-sex couples adopting children.
Repentance also would mean Francis would have to hold bishops accountable for protecting or enabling clerical predators, or engaging in such abuse themselves. Among the bishops who concealed sexual abuse are two of Francis‘ most recent episcopal appointments: McElroy for Washington and Archbishop Edward Weisenburger for Detroit.
Francis himself prevented an artist, the Rev. Marko Rupnik, from being held fully accountable for sexually abusing nuns, and has yet to issue any punishment to Argentine Bishop Gustavo Oscar Zanchetta, who was convicted in 2022 of aggravated sexual assault against two seminarians.
Does this pope’s previous behavior suggest he would categorically abandon any of his questionable agenda or actions — including, in some areas, his deliberate inaction?
More importantly, how much do Catholics know about Francis’ duplicity and how outraged are they? Apparently, some who know are willing to exchange any legitimate anger for an empathy that combines sentimentality with a false sense of duty.
“We have to pray for him no matter what,” said Joe McClane, host of a Catholic radio program and one of Francis’ persistent critics. “We need to call out the wolves in sheep’s clothing and have the greatest charity in our hearts toward those same wolves.”
Another forthright critic — Bishop Joseph Strickland, whom Francis purged from his position in Tyler, Texas — agreed.
“Pope Francis needs our prayers,” Strickland said. “If Jorge Bergoglio was not the pope but an 88-year-old man that was in the hospital in serious condition, we should pray for him. If that 88-year-old man had promoted gay marriage and covered up a lot of corruption, if he was Grandpa, we would say, ‘We need to pray for Grandpa.’ If we hear of a man in his late 80s whom we know has committed terrible crimes, we should still pray for him.”
But the typical 88-year-old grandfather owns nothing near the kind of influence a pope does. Nor the kind of demand for absolute obedience. Nor the kind of theological responsibility Catholics believe comes from God.
Nevertheless, Strickland persisted.
“We should love our enemies and Pope Francis isn’t our enemy,” he said. “Hopefully, Pope Francis will recover.”
Catholics will cite Jesus’ plea from the cross to “forgive them; they don’t know what they’re doing.” But what about Judas? Did Jesus pray for Judas after that disciple left a meal to betray him? Did Jesus pray for the Pharisees, who not only refused to understand him but dedicated themselves to sabotaging him? Did Jesus pray for Herod, a tyrannical pervert? Did Jesus ask his disciples to intercede for any of them?
If the biblical record is accurate, no. Why not?
Because Judas was evil. The Pharisees were evil. Herod was evil. So is Francis.
No other word but “evil” can describe a man who not only would try to make homosexually acceptable in the church but even allow a male drag dancer to perform in front of children.
No other word but “evil” would describe a man who sacrifices the victims of clerical sex abuse on the altar of institutional protection, or the victims of migrant crime and Chinese Catholics on the altar of political influence.
No other word but “evil” would describe a man who values environmental sustainability and economic redistribution over anything having to do with God.
No other word but “evil” describes a man who ignores the plight of unborn children because he has an advisor who once wrote a book advocating abortion to limit world population growth.
No other word but “evil” would describe a man who uses desperate immigrants as a human shield to cultivate a non-Christian agenda and to protect his church’s financial interests.
How much support do people owe fundamentally evil men — especially when such support overshadows the legitimate needs of their victims?
That question extends beyond Francis, beyond Catholicism, beyond Christianity, beyond religion.
In any event, sanctimonious myopia makes a poor substitute for a moral compass that has been pulverized into billions of subatomic particles.
Praying for the conversion and salvation of everyone is Catholic. Most Christians would agree.
Compare Obama: While praying for the success of Obama – instead of praying for his failure – would violate Christian teaching – because we do not want evil to succeed – praying for Obama to repent and be saved is indeed Christian.
The same should apply to an evil Pope.
We do not want to pray for his success. Might as well pray for the RCC to become the vassal spiritual advisor to the Chinese Communist Party.
But we should pray for his conversion and his salvation.
That command is not for his benefit, btw. It is for our benefit – so that we learn not to hate our enemies, but to forgive them.
It’s a tricky distinction. And Pope splainers simping for this Pope don’t help. They don’t care about praying for this Pope’s victims – from sexual abuse victims in Argentina to Vigano or Strickland or the many cancelled priests calling for reform – but only praying for the Pope’s ‘good deeds’ and ‘good intentions’
and I understand – spare me the ‘splaining for a snake in the See of Peter.
“That command is not for his benefit, btw. It is for our benefit – so that we learn not to hate our enemies, but to forgive them.”
The problem is that God wants all those who trust in his name to hate evil. What Francis has done to the church is evil. Anybody who doesn’t see that needs ethical cataract surgery.
I feel the same way. Every time I enter and exit church, I feel like spitting on his portrait hung in the entry way. I then pray to God for how I feel. I do not throw the word evil around often.
But, I do know Evil when I see it. I have NEVER cared for this man. Even before he became Pope.
He never was the real Pope to me.
Benedict was the Pope. This man is a fraud. Always was.
You write, “This man is a fraud. Never…the real pope to me.” But you also write, …he became pope.” Maybe he ddn’t.
For me, the thing that makes it possible to pray for enemies – including those who are objectively evil, like Hamas – and ask with integrity that they be blessed, is the knowledge that God’s idea of blessing very much includes repentance where necessary. And not just an apology, but the Biblical Full Monty of an 180 degree turn round.
I’m not a Catholic, so my idea of what that would look like for the Pope may not be realistic – but retirement, having first revoked any appointments likely to cause a similarly theologically liberal successor to be elected (e.g., it isn’t repentance if he has packed the College of Cardinals).
“…it isn’t repentance if he has packed the College of Cardinals”
Well put
When this pope sneezes, feces flies out from his nose.
He is a hard one to take ..
In a word……………………NO!
I pray daily for the removal of evil from my Catholic church.
That’s the only prayer Francis will get from me.
He has a lot to answer for. May God have mercy on his soul.
I would pray that he has a come to Jesus moment very soon and that he will be one of whom Christ will say “I never knew you”.
Well yes. As a priest once told my mom, Christ commanded us to love even our enemies, he didn’t say we had to like them.
We should pray for everyone, if you think Pope Francis is acting poorly– it would certainly be appropriate to pray that God provides him the kick in the pants he might need to do his job better.
It’s Christ’s kingdom, not mine, I would think he’d want us all to choose to be with him and praying someone receives the guidance they need to choose Christ is never a bad thing.
If he recovers and truly repents, that repentance should manifest itself in the actions I described in the piece. Otherwise, not only does “repentance” become a joke. False repentance insults a holy, righteous God.
Is not true repenttace, however inconceivable to us, something to pray for, if only to honor the pninciple I’m in the not pope, never was, cohort.
The Catholic Church has lost its way (if it ever had it). The worship of God does not come from a denomination but from the heart and soul. Elevating Mary and considering the Pope as infallible is only found in the Catholic Bible. A personal relationship with Christ has little to do with the church. It is a personal journey that is between the believer and God. When Papal Decrees supersede the Bible, there is something terribly wrong. It is a violation of the Holy Scriptures to confess to a man and not directly to the real Father in heaven. The church has lost its motivation to serve God by putting manmade barriers between God and His children.
The exquisite Fatima prayer will do nicely:
“O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are in most need of Thy mercy..”
I have begun praying for him lately asking God that His will be done.
Actually, Jesus did pray for those who crucified and mocked Him — “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
We should pray for “Pope” Francis – pray that he realizes that it is a grave sin to call himself the “vicar of Christ”, and that he would publicly renounce such a blasphemous claim. And pray that he would realize that he needs to be born again, for without that, he is a lost sinner, on his way to eternal separation from God.
This is going to sound extreme – but is it possible that there is a case for exorcism here? Anyone who does wrong, claiming to believe that it is right, is either deceived or deceiving, and if it is the former, then the Pope needs to be delivered from evil. I don’t, of course, mean the sensationalised exorcisms of the horror films, but the quiet but irresistible authority that typified Jesus’ ministry in this area.
The Eastern Orthodox tradition still exorcises prior to baptism – it may be that this warrants a revisit by Western churches, especially given the prevalence of occultism, paganism, violence and sexual wrongdoing, all of which are associated with the forces of evil, in our modern culture.
I pray for every one of God’s children including this evil man. I am a Christian and was saddened and very concerned when he was elected. The Catholic church has had it’s share of really bad Popes.
the “pope” is labelled “the vicar of Christ”. Vicar means “Placeholder”. The latin is “locum tenens”. We see this sometimes used in the world of medical prqctice. When a physiucian takes a leave to engage in further study to improve his ability to serve, he will find a replacement physician to take his place for that time period. the sub is said to be the “locum tenens”.
Jesus plainly said “behold I AM with you always, even to the end of the world. HE needs no “locum tenens”. The “pope” being said to take His place whilst Jesus is off somewhere else doing whatever He”s doing over there is a figment of their imagination. Those who know Him know full well HE IS WITH US today.
So what exactly is that “pope” doing anyway? The entire concept is a fraud.
I was raised in the catholic church, baptised at six weeks,first communion at 7, catholic schooling kindergarten through second year uiversity. Talked to the box every week, never dealt with the burden of sin I carried. COmmunion weekly, altar boy since ten, confirmation, (we meorised the responses in latin) I was cnstantly plagued with the sense that none of it was ever going tobe enough.
Then Jesus Himself came a calling..HE opened my eyes to see who HE is. I was reminded of HIS Words “remember, I AM WITH YOU even to the end of the age”. Over the past fifty years He has been faithful eve whe I have not been. No intermediary. No “locum tenens”. The relationship is close and real, not built upon some faulty human masquerading as some godlet.
The “leadership” in the roman catholic church are busy about feathering their own nest instead of serving. Their glory is their own works, not those of the God who made them. This present “pope” well exemplifies this. Jesus is very likely to command them “depart from Me I never knew you”.
ME? I will continue following the Lord of the universe, not some puppet in fine robes stumping for his own self.
Bravo! Bravissimo!!
How would you feel about a true and holy pope? Do you reject only this fake pope (antipope), or the thing itself?
Yes, they should pray for him.
They should pray he dies before he can do any more damage to the innocent, and that he ends up burning in h3ll for all eternity.
We need another Crusade to defend Palestinian Christians including Roman Catholics against Zionist Jews. America and the Christian West has more than enough Crusader Knights to fill the ranks.. Where do I sign up?
Pope Francis by most accounts is a good man, and Pope. If you’re looking for perfection, you’re in the wrong Universe. Certainly, Christianity has much to account for, even for the persecution of Jews over time and place, and we still don’t know the role or full extent of the Catholic Church and our Pope of the day in complicity with the Nazais and Brown Shirts.
I still don’t reallly understand the motives, intentions, and human nature behind the horrors of the Death Camps and Genocide. Meanwhile,the Jewish Nation is hardly innocent,here, given the Genocide taking place in Gaza. There is a plathora of Crimes and Sins to be found among Jews and Christians to this day.